SSI Diver Stress & RescueBe the one who can help
2 days, 3 confined-water sessions and 3 open-water dives — learn to spot stress, prevent incidents and manage emergencies, all of it on the Great Barrier Reef.
The course every serious diver rates as their best
SSI Diver Stress & Rescue
2 days, 5 training dives plus a fun dive. Learn to spot stress, prevent incidents and manage emergencies — the course every serious diver rates as their best. Run entirely on the Great Barrier Reef at Moore Reef, home in Cairns every night.
Ages 12+ · 2 days · Open Water + current First Aid, CPR & O₂ required
image© MaresYour training happens on the reef
The only SSI Training Centre in Cairns where every course runs entirely on the Great Barrier Reef — no pool, no liveaboard, home every night.
What SSI Diver Stress & Rescue actually covers
Five training dives build these skills in open water at Moore Reef — recognising and preventing stress first, then responding once something has already gone wrong.
Stress recognition & prevention
Spotting the early signs of diver stress in yourself and your buddy, before it becomes a problem.
Self-rescue
Managing your own out-of-air, entanglement or panic response so you can get yourself to safety.
Tired & panicked diver assists
Towing and calming a diver in trouble at the surface.
Missing diver response
A search pattern for a buddy who has not surfaced when they should have.
Unconscious diver response
Bringing an unresponsive diver to the surface, removing their gear, and towing them to safety while managing their airway.
Emergency oxygen & first aid
Administering 100% oxygen — the primary first-aid response for most diving injuries — and managing the situation until help arrives.
Two days, two different jobs
You are on the standard Moore Reef day trip both days — same boat, same terminal, same 5.30pm finish. No pre-dawn start and no overnight.
Day 1 — confined water
Three confined-water sessions in a sheltered area at the Moore Reef pontoon: stress recognition, self-rescue, tired & panicked diver assists, missing diver response and unconscious diver response — each skill introduced and practiced before you take it into open water.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 8.45am | Check in at the Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal. Check-in runs 8.45 to 9.45am. |
| 10.15am | Depart Cairns. Ninety minutes out to the reef with morning tea on the way, and your instructor runs today's briefing on board. |
| 11.45am | Arrive at the Moore Reef pontoon. Safety briefing, gear fitted and checked. |
| Midday | Confined-water session 1 — stress recognition & self-rescue (40 minutes). |
| 1.00pm | Buffet lunch (30 minutes) on the pontoon while you sit out your surface interval. |
| 1.45pm | Confined-water session 2 — tired & panicked diver assists (40 minutes). |
| 2.45pm | Confined-water session 3 — missing diver & unconscious diver response (40 minutes). |
| 3.45pm | Depart the reef. Log your dives with your instructor over afternoon tea. |
| 5.30pm | Back in Cairns at the Reef Fleet Terminal. |
Day 2 — open water
Three open-water dives on the reef, putting Day 1's skills into action for real. Your instructor assesses you as you go, then signs you off.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 8.45am | Check in at the Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal. Check-in runs 8.45 to 9.45am. |
| 10.15am | Depart Cairns. Ninety minutes out to the reef, briefing on board. |
| 11.45am | Arrive at the Moore Reef pontoon. Safety briefing, gear fitted and checked. |
| Midday | Open-water dive 1 — applying your rescue skills on the reef (40 minutes). |
| 1.00pm | Buffet lunch (30 minutes) on the pontoon. |
| 1.45pm | Open-water dive 2 — applying your rescue skills on the reef (40 minutes). |
| 2.45pm | Open-water dive 3 — final skills assessment (40 minutes). Your instructor signs you off. |
| 3.45pm | Depart the reef. Log your dives with your instructor over afternoon tea. |
| 5.30pm | Back in Cairns at the Reef Fleet Terminal. |
Four things to know
You will need your Open Water card
SSI Open Water Diver, or the equivalent from any recognised agency — PADI, SDI, RAID, NAUI, CMAS. Bring it, or have it on your phone.
Current First Aid, CPR & Emergency Oxygen
You'll need current First Aid, CPR and Emergency Oxygen Provider certification (or equivalent) before SSI can issue your Stress & Rescue certification card — but you don't need it to book or start the course. If yours has lapsed, or you've never held one, tell us when you book and we'll help arrange a refresher before your card is issued.
The RSTC Diver Medical form
Every diver completes the RSTC Diver Medical — Participant Questionnaire before getting in the water. 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.
Allow enough time
Two days on the reef, plus at least 18 hours between your last dive and any flight. Do not book this for your last two days in Cairns.
What is in the price
Training
SSI digital learning and all materials, your SSI instructor, and all six dives on the Great Barrier Reef.
Equipment
All scuba equipment for the duration of the course, plus wetsuit or stinger suit, and the emergency oxygen unit used in training.
Your reef days
Both Moore Reef day trips, lunch and refreshments, and everything else on the pontoon — waterslide, glass-bottom boat, snorkelling gear. The reef trip is in the course price; there is nothing to add on.
Certification
Your SSI Diver Stress & Rescue digital card, issued through the free SSI app. It never expires.
Not included: travel to and from the Cairns Reef Fleet Terminal, and current First Aid, CPR and Emergency Oxygen certification if you do not already hold it.
Where this takes you
Diver Stress & Rescue is one of the two mandatory specialties for SSI Master Diver — the highest non-professional rating SSI offers, and the direct pathway into Divemaster and instructor training if you ever want to work in diving. It is also simply the course every serious diver says changed how they dive — you will never look at your buddy the same way again.
Questions everyone asks
What's the minimum age?
This course is 12 and up. The SSI Open Water Diver course starts at 10, but Advanced Open Water and Diver Stress and Rescue both require 12. Anyone certified under 15 receives a Junior Diver certification and dives with a dive professional or a certified adult until they turn 15. Divers under 18 need a parent or guardian to sign a consent form and to be present.
Do I need a medical?
Every diver completes the RSTC Diver Medical questionnaire before getting in the water. All “no” answers and you're cleared to dive. Any “yes” needs a doctor's signature first — we send the form at booking so you can sort it at home.
I certified with PADI years ago — can I do your courses?
Yes. PADI, SDI and NAUI certifications are recognised for our continuing education courses and refreshers.
Can I cancel or reschedule my course?
Yes. Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 24 hours before your course commences.
When do courses start?
1 October 2026 is when courses start running from — not a single date. From then, courses run every day of the week. Register your interest below and you'll be the first to know when bookings open — founding-class spots will be limited while our instructors run small early groups.
What if my First Aid, CPR or oxygen certification is not current?
You don't need it to book or start the course — but SSI can't issue your Stress & Rescue certification card without current First Aid, CPR and Emergency Oxygen Provider certification (or equivalent). If yours has lapsed, or you've never held one, tell us when you book and we'll help arrange a refresher before your card is issued.
What's the difference between the confined-water sessions and the open-water dives?
Day 1 is confined-water training — a sheltered, shallow area at the Moore Reef pontoon where you learn and practice each rescue skill before it counts for real. Day 2 is three open-water dives on the reef, where you put those same skills into action with your instructor assessing you.
How physically demanding is this course?
More demanding than Open Water or Advanced — you will be towing, lifting and managing another diver at the surface. You do not need to be an athlete, but reasonable fitness and comfort in the water make the skills much easier to learn.
Download the free SSI app before you start
Your theory lives in the app, and so does your certification card once you pass. It’s free, and it works offline — handy on a plane.
Search for SSI App — Education and Fun, or scan below.
Click to learn more
What is "diver stress" really?
The build-up of small problems — cold, fatigue, task overload — that can snowball into a real emergency if nobody notices early. This course trains you to spot it before it does.
Why practice a missing-diver search?
So if your buddy doesn't surface when they should, you have an actual plan instead of just panicking — a systematic pattern that gives you the best chance of finding them fast.
What is an Emergency Oxygen Provider?
Someone trained to administer 100% oxygen to an injured diver — the single most useful first-aid response for most diving injuries, and a skill you'll practice hands-on.
Is this the last course before Divemaster?
Not quite — but Diver Stress & Rescue is one of two mandatory specialties for SSI Master Diver, and a required step on the path to Divemaster.
Be first in the water
Bookings open soon. Leave your details and we'll email you the moment your course can be booked — before it's released anywhere else.
No payment, no obligation — just first access when bookings open.