SSI Referral

Finish your course on the reef

Started your Open Water course somewhere else? Do your open water training dives with us at Moore Reef, 40 kilometres offshore. Home in Cairns every night.

Ages 10+1 or 2 days$550 or $870SSI students

The option

Finish your course on the reef

SSI Referral — open water training dives

If you have started an Open Water course somewhere else, you do not have to start again. Once your theory, your confined water sessions and your water fitness evaluation are signed off, the only thing left is the open water training dives. You can do those with us at Moore Reef.

That means the part of the course you actually came for happens on the Great Barrier Reef, 40 kilometres offshore, instead of in a quarry or a harbour. Your instructor upgrades you in the SSI app at the end and your card is issued.

Started with another agency?

This page is written for students who began their Open Water course at an SSI training centre. If you started with PADI or another agency, contact us before you book and we will tell you what is possible.

Student divers on Sunlover's custom training platform beneath the Moore Reef pontoon, no pool required — Confined water skills happen on our custom training platform under the pontoon — sheltered, shallow and right on the reef. No pool, no chlorine.

Two options

Two dives or four

Option	What it covers	Days	Price
Referral — 2 dives	Open water training dives 3 and 4	1 day	$550
Referral — 4 dives	All 4 open water training dives	2 days	$870

SSI allows a maximum of 3 training dives in a day, so the 4 dive option runs across 2 days. Across the 4 dives you will log at least 80 minutes of bottom time, with a minimum of 15 minutes on each dive.

Two divers signalling OK to each other on the descent line at Moore Reef — Two students signalling OK on the descent line at Moore Reef.

Before you board

What to bring from your dive centre

Your training records showing sections 1 to 6 of the academics are complete
Confirmation your confined water sessions are signed off
Your Student Water Fitness Evaluation
A copy of the medical questionnaire you completed with them
Your Referral Diver card, in the SSI app or printed

Your referring centre sends these through before you board. You complete the SSI Diver Medical Participant Questionnaire as part of our forms in the free SSI app, so anything on it can be sorted at home rather than at the terminal.

Timing

How long you have

Since	What is needed first
Under 6 months since your Referral Diver card was issued	Nothing. Come and dive.
Over 6 months	A Scuba Skills Update before your training dives
Over 12 months since your last time in the water	A Scuba Skills Update, plus retake the Open Water final exam

✓

Past either mark? You are still good to go.

Just tell us when you book. We build the Scuba Skills Update into your day on the reef with your instructor — no second trip, no extra day in Cairns.

Ages and depth

Who can do it

Minimum age is 10, the same as the Open Water Diver course. Divers aged 10 and 11 are limited to 12 metres on any open water dive, and 12 to 14 year olds to 18 metres. Anyone under 15 is certified as a Junior diver and dives with a dive professional or a certified adult until the card upgrades at 15.

We cap every course at 4 students to 1 instructor, which is our own limit rather than the industry maximum. Tell us the ages of everyone in your booking so we hold the right spaces.

Your day

How the day runs

Time	What happens
9.30am	Check in at the Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal.
10.15am	Depart Cairns for Moore Reef. Paperwork and a briefing on the way out.
11.45am	Arrive at the pontoon. Gear fitted, buddy check, into the water.
Afternoon	Your training dives on the reef beside the pontoon, with lunch between them.
4.00pm	Depart Moore Reef.
5.30pm	Back at the Cairns Marina.

Divers ascending the line with reef fish alongside at Moore Reef — Back up the line at the end of a training dive, with the fish for company.

In the water

Where your training dives happen

Coral bommie on an Open Water training dive at Moore Reef — Open water training dives happen on the reef beside the pontoon.

Two student divers on the descent line at Moore Reef, Great Barrier Reef — Two students on the descent line at Moore Reef.

Wide view of Sunlover's ocean training area built into the Moore Reef pontoon — The training area is built into the pontoon, 40km offshore.

Two divers standing on the underwater training platform beneath the Sunlover pontoon at Moore Reef — The training platform sits beneath the pontoon.

Two student divers kneeling on Sunlover's 2 metre training platform at Moore Reef — Skills start at 2 metres, feet on a solid platform.

Instructor running a skills briefing with two student divers under the pontoon at Moore Reef — Four divers to an instructor, briefed in the water.

Questions

Referral, answered

What is a referral dive?

It is the last part of an Open Water course. You complete the theory and the confined water skills at one SSI centre, then do your open water training dives somewhere else. Divers use it so the training dives happen somewhere worth diving.

Can I use a referral from a PADI or another agency course?

Our referral options are for SSI students. If you trained with another agency, talk to us before you book and we will tell you what we can do.

How much does it cost?

$550 for 2 open water training dives over 1 day, or $870 for all 4 dives over 2 days. SSI allows a maximum of 3 training dives in a day, which is why the 4 dive option runs across 2 days.

What if it has been a while since I was in the water?

Over 6 months since your Referral Diver card was issued, you need a Scuba Skills Update first. Over 12 months since your last in-water session, you need the Scuba Skills Update and to retake the Open Water final exam. Tell us when you book and we will build it into your day.

What do I need to bring?

Your training records showing sections 1 to 6 are complete, confirmation your confined water sessions are signed off, your Student Water Fitness Evaluation, a copy of your medical questionnaire, and your Referral Diver card. Your referring centre sends these through before you board.

How do I get my certification card?

Your Sunlover instructor upgrades you in the SSI app once your training dives are complete, and the card is issued into the same app.

Can I cancel?

Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 5 days before your course commences. Bookings need to be made at least 24 hours ahead.

Bookable on request

Tell us where you got to

Referral dives are booked by request so we can check your records first. Leave your details with the centre you trained at and the dates you are in Cairns, and we will come back with a day that works.

No payment, no obligation.