Recreational training

Advanced Open Water Diver Course in Australia

Five guided specialty dives that extend depth to 30 metres and introduce navigation and other skills.

Open-water training, represented by an AI-generated editorial image.

Advanced Open Water is usually the second certification a diver takes, and its name is somewhat misleading — it is an introduction to a range of diving types rather than an advanced qualification.

The course typically consists of five dives: a deep dive, a navigation dive and three elective adventure dives chosen from specialties such as night, wreck, drysuit, photography or peak performance buoyancy.

Its practical value is that it extends the recreational depth limit to around 30 metres, which opens up a large proportion of Australia's better dive sites — including most of the wrecks and offshore sites.

Compare this course: PADI vs SSI

PADI Advanced Open Water vs SSI Advanced Open WaterCompare the five-dive programmes and understand where SSI’s former Advanced Adventurer name fits.

Track	Recreational
Prerequisites	Open Water Diver certification; Minimum age (typically 12–15 depending on agency)
Agency equivalents	PADI: Advanced Open Water Diver · SSI: Advanced Open Water Diver (formerly Advanced Adventurer) · SDI: Advanced Adventure Diver · RAID: Explorer 30

Advanced Open Water Diver Course Skills and Content

diving to around 30 metres with appropriate planning
underwater navigation with compass and natural references
gas management at greater depth
narcosis awareness
an introduction to several specialty disciplines

Advanced Open Water Diver Course: Why it matters in Australia specifically

A great many of Australia's signature dives sit between 18 and 30 metres: the SS Yongala, HMAS Canberra, the ex-HMAS Brisbane, Wolf Rock, Flat Rock and the deeper Solitary Islands sites among them.

Without this certification, a substantial part of Australian diving is simply unavailable, which is why it is the most commonly taken second course in the country.

Advanced Open Water Diver Course: Choose the electives deliberately

The three elective dives are frequently chosen by whatever the centre is running that weekend. Choosing them around the diving you actually intend to do is more useful.

A Victorian or Tasmanian diver benefits enormously from the drysuit dive. A diver heading to Queensland wrecks benefits from the wreck dive. A photographer benefits from buoyancy far more than from a photography module.

Dive Sites for Advanced Open Water Diver Skills

Sites where holding this certification genuinely changes what you can do — not a list of everywhere it is accepted.

SS YongalaA 100-metre passenger steamer lost in 1911, now carrying possibly the densest marine life in Australia.HMAS CanberraVictoria's signature artificial wreck — a former guided missile frigate at around 28 metres.Fish RockGrey nurse shark aggregation and one of Australia's few genuine ocean through-caves.Wolf RockAn offshore volcanic pinnacle and one of the few known aggregation sites for pregnant grey nurse sharks.Flat RockSoutheast Queensland's premier big-animal site — grey nurse sharks, mantas and turtles.ex-HMAS BrisbaneA former guided missile destroyer scuttled off Mooloolaba and prepared specifically for divers.Ball's PyramidThe world's tallest sea stack, 26 km offshore, surrounded by pelagic fish in open ocean.

Courses After Advanced Open Water Diver

Courses that build directly on this one.

Rescue DiverThe course most divers describe as the hardest and the most genuinely useful they have taken.Deep DiverExtending recreational limits to 40 metres, with the gas planning and narcosis awareness that requires.Enriched Air NitroxDiving with elevated oxygen to extend no-decompression limits — the most commonly taken specialty.Wreck DiverDiving wrecks safely, and understanding where external touring ends and penetration begins.Drysuit DiverUsing a drysuit as a second buoyancy system — essential for serious cold-water diving in southern Australia.

Advanced Open Water Diver Prerequisite Courses

Learning to DiveWhat entry-level scuba training actually involves, and how to judge a course before you book it.Open Water DiverThe entry-level certification that allows independent recreational diving to around 18 metres.Drysuit DiverUsing a drysuit as a second buoyancy system — essential for serious cold-water diving in southern Australia.Night DiverDiving after dark, where familiar sites become completely different and nocturnal life emerges.Peak Performance BuoyancyThe short course with the biggest effect on how good a diver you actually are.Underwater NavigationFinding your way with a compass and natural references — essential for Australian shore diving.Drift DiverDiving with current rather than against it — a necessary skill for many of Australia's best sites.

Advanced Open Water Diver Course Names by Training Agency

Agency versions and nearest equivalents. Names, prerequisites and limits can differ, so operators assess the exact certification and experience.

PADITaught as “Advanced Open Water Diver”.SSITaught as “Advanced Open Water Diver (formerly Advanced Adventurer)”.SDITaught as “Advanced Adventure Diver”.RAIDTaught as “Explorer 30”.

Australian Dive Centres Offering Advanced Open Water Diver

Businesses where the relevant capability is verified or advertised. Always confirm the specific course directly.

Pro Dive CairnsA PADI 5 Star Career Development Centre operating since 1983, pairing a Cairns training centre with two deep heated pools with three-day outer reef liveaboard trips.Divers DenCairns' longest-established dive company (founded 1974), a PADI Career Development Centre and Eco Centre running day trips and the OceanQuest reef-based liveaboard.Reef EncounterA 35-metre catamaran moored on the outer reef off Cairns as a floating hotel, with stays from one night and beginner-to-advanced dive courses on board.Passions of ParadiseA family-owned Cairns operator sailing the 30-metre catamaran Passions III to two outer reef sites a day at its own moorings, with introductory and certified diving.Spirit of FreedomA Cairns liveaboard running three-, four- and seven-night trips to the Cod Hole, Ribbon Reefs and Osprey Reef, with 11 ensuite cabins.Blue Dive Port DouglasA Port Douglas PADI operator specialising in privately guided outer reef dives and private courses at the Agincourt and Opal reefs.Quicksilver ConnectionsPort Douglas' largest reef operator, founded in 1979, running wavepiercers to its Agincourt Reef pontoon and a PADI 5 Star IDC training centre with a heated pool.Adrenalin Snorkel & DiveTownsville's longest-established dive day-trip operator, a PADI 5 Star centre running the SS Yongala wreck, John Brewer Reef and the Museum of Underwater Art.Pleasure Divers Magnetic IslandMagnetic Island's longest-running dive centre, an SSI facility on the Geoffrey Bay foreshore with the island's only purpose-built training pool.Pro Dive Magnetic IslandA Magnetic Island operation offering training and local diving.Airlie Beach Dive CentreA small Airlie Beach PADI Dive Center focused on personalised training and families with children, with its own boat, air fills and servicing.Whitsunday Dive AdventuresA purpose-built PADI 5 Star IDC three minutes' drive from Airlie Beach, with two classrooms, a 3.8-metre pool and daily dive trips.

Advanced Open Water Diver Course FAQs

Is Advanced Open Water actually advanced?

Not in the technical sense. It is a supervised introduction to several diving types, and it extends your depth limit. It does not make you an experienced diver.

How many dives do I need first?

Most agencies allow it immediately after Open Water. Many instructors suggest logging some dives first, so the course builds on comfort rather than substituting for it.

Do I need it for the SS Yongala?

Operator requirements vary, but the depth makes it strongly advisable, and some operators require it along with a minimum number of logged dives.