Diving questions

For the Intro Reef Dive you need to be reasonably comfortable in the water — your instructor stays with you the whole dive. Certification courses include a water fitness evaluation, so you do need to be able to swim.

Every diver completes the RSTC Diver Medical — Participant Questionnaire before getting in the water. Same form, every course, every diver. If you answer no to everything, you’re cleared to dive. If you answer yes to anything, the Physician’s Evaluation section has to be signed by a doctor first — get that done at home before you travel and bring it with you.

The questionnaire asks about asthma, heart conditions, ear and sinus problems, epilepsy, diabetes, lung conditions, recent surgery and pregnancy, among others. If any of those apply to you, contact us before booking and we’ll tell you exactly what you need.

It depends on the programme. Introductory (non-certified) dives are 12 and up, which is the minimum Queensland's code of practice sets for non-certified diving. The SSI Open Water Diver course starts at 10: divers aged 10 and 11 are limited to 12 m and train in smaller groups, with a maximum of 4 students per instructor and no more than 2 of them under 12. The Advanced Open Water and Diver Stress and Rescue courses are 12 and up. Anyone certified under 15 receives a Junior Diver certification and dives with a dive professional or a certified adult until they turn 15, when it upgrades automatically. Divers under 18 need a parent or guardian to sign a consent form and to be present.

No. Health and fitness matter more than the number.

No. All our courses are day trips from Cairns — you’re back in your own bed each night.

Worth telling us when you book. The pontoon is a stable platform and the training area is fully enclosed, so it’s a much easier environment than a moving vessel.

Swimmers, a towel, reef-safe sunscreen, and your certification card if you have one. We provide all dive equipment and wetsuits or stinger suits.

A maximum of four. Every course we run works to a 1:4 ratio — a deliberate limit, not a busy-day maximum. With four students an instructor can focus on what actually matters, which is each student finishing confident and competent rather than simply getting a group through.

You come up. Nobody has ever been made to stay underwater. Your instructor is within arm’s reach the whole time.

Not for at least 18 hours after your last dive. Don’t book diving the day before you fly.

Your SSI digital card is issued through the free SSI app, usually the same day. It’s on your phone, can’t be lost, and never expires.

Courses start every day of the week, so you can fit one around the rest of your trip rather than planning your trip around it.

Courses are paid in advance when you book, the same as every other Sunlover tour.

Yes. Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 24 hours before your course commences.

It is not compulsory, but we strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance for any reef trip — and there are two things worth checking specifically.

Does it cover recreational scuba diving? Cover varies a lot between policies. Some exclude diving altogether, some cap the depth you are covered to, and some require you to be diving with a qualified instructor. Read the activities section before you rely on it.

Does it cover weather and cancellation? North Queensland has a cyclone season from December to April. A policy that covers force majeure and natural disasters, bought well before you travel, is what protects you if a named cyclone disrupts your trip. Look for trip cancellation, medical and repatriation expenses, personal liability and lost baggage as standard.

Answering “yes” to anything on the RSTC medical questionnaire is not an automatic fail — it means a doctor needs to review you first, using the Australian Standard recreational dive medical (AS4005.1). Most people are cleared.

If a doctor will not sign you off as fit to dive, we cannot take you in the water. That is a safety and legal requirement rather than something we can waive.

This is why we ask you to complete the questionnaire before you book, or as early as you can. Sorting out a medical at home costs you nothing but time; discovering the problem on the morning of your course is a much more expensive way to find out. If you have any doubt, contact us before booking and we will tell you exactly what you need. Refunds and changes in that situation are covered by our booking terms and conditions.

There is no pass or fail in the way an exam has one. Certification is competency-based: you are signed off on each skill once you can do it safely, and if a skill is not there yet you simply practise it until it is. Your instructor works with you on that specific skill rather than moving the group on without you — which is part of why we cap every course at four students per instructor.

The knowledge reviews work the same way. If you do not reach the pass mark, you go back over the questions you missed with your instructor and try again.

If you need more time than your course days allow, we look at it case by case. Depending on the schedule we may be able to get you back out on a later trip to finish. If you are heading home first, your training record stays with you — SSI allows you to complete the remaining dives at another SSI Training Centre, and we will sort out the referral paperwork before you go. Either way, talk to us before you leave Cairns.

Course fees cover your instruction and your days on the reef rather than a guaranteed certification card, so they are not refundable once training has started. We will always look at individual circumstances — talk to our reservations team.

Yes. We have prescription masks available for training, so you can see properly underwater without relying on lenses at all.

If you would rather wear contacts, soft lenses are fine, and daily disposables are best — if one washes out it costs nothing to replace. Avoid hard or gas-permeable lenses, which can trap gas bubbles against the eye as the pressure changes. You will be asked to flood and clear your mask during training, so keep your eyes closed for those skills and tell your instructor beforehand — they will guide you by touch. Bring a spare pair and your glasses.