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Technical training

Decompression Procedures Course in Australia

Planning and executing dives with a mandatory decompression obligation.

Scuba diver touring the exterior of a coral-covered shipwreck
Northern Territory wreck diving, represented by an AI-generated editorial image.

Recreational dives are generally planned to allow direct ascent without mandatory staged decompression. Technical decompression intentionally creates an obligation.

That changes the emergency model completely. Gas planning becomes critical because direct ascent may no longer be the planned response to every problem — the diver must have enough gas to complete the decompression regardless of what goes wrong.

The course covers decompression theory, planning software and tables, staged ascents with gas switches, and the contingency planning that makes the obligation manageable.

TrackTechnical
PrerequisitesAdvanced Nitrox typically required; Good buoyancy and trim; Redundant equipment configuration
Agency equivalentsTDI: Decompression Procedures · PADI: Tec 45/50 · IANTD: Technical Diver · RAID: Deco 50

Decompression Procedures Course Skills and Content

  • decompression theory and algorithm behaviour
  • planning staged decompression with software and tables
  • gas requirements including contingency reserves
  • staged ascents and stop discipline
  • managing a lost decompression gas
  • equipment redundancy and failure analysis

Decompression Procedures Course: The emergency model changes

In recreational diving, the answer to almost any problem is to end the dive and ascend. Once a decompression obligation exists, that option is gone.

Every failure has to be resolvable at depth or during a controlled ascent, which is why redundancy in gas, buoyancy and instrumentation stops being optional.

Decompression Procedures Course: Buoyancy stops being cosmetic

Holding a stop at 6 metres for twenty minutes in swell, with a stage cylinder and changing buoyancy as gas is consumed, is a genuine skill.

Poor buoyancy becomes increasingly consequential when mandatory decompression or overhead environments are involved — which is why technical training front-loads trim and control work.

Before you enrol in Decompression Procedures

Readiness

  • The diver must be able to hold depth precisely without a visual reference and deploy an SMB while maintaining the planned stop.
  • A redundant configuration should already feel normal before failure drills are added.

What to compare

  • TDI separates Decompression Procedures as a recognisable course, while PADI TecRec and SSI Extended Range build decompression capability through depth- and pathway-based levels.
  • Compare maximum depth, maximum decompression obligation, number of gases, equipment configuration and whether helium is introduced.

Useful outcome

  • Graduates should be able to plan gas, execute stops and respond to lost gas, delayed ascent and team separation within the qualification limits.
  • A computer displaying stops is not the same as being trained to plan and manage them.

Questions to ask the instructor

  • Which planning software and backup method are taught?
  • How are minimum gas and team reserves calculated?
  • What are the certification limits?

Dive Sites for Decompression Procedures Skills

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

Ships' GraveyardNumerous vessels deliberately scuttled outside Port Phillip Bay across a wide depth range.Port Phillip Heads WallsWalls starting at 12 metres and continuing beyond 90 — the terrain behind Victoria's technical culture.SS NordA steamer lost in 1915, lying around 42 metres off the Tasman Peninsula.Piccaninnie PondsA karst spring of extraordinary clarity, with the Cathedral chamber and a chasm beyond 100 metres.Lonsdale WallVictoria's signature wall — sponge-covered, vertical, and continuing well past recreational depth.

Courses After Decompression Procedures

Courses that build directly on this one.

Trimix DiverAdding helium to manage narcosis, oxygen exposure and gas density at depth.Closed Circuit Rebreather DiverRecycling breathing gas to extend duration, reduce bubbles and optimise oxygen exposure.Cave DiverFull overhead penetration diving, where direct ascent is not available at any point.

Decompression Procedures Prerequisite Courses

Deep DiverExtending recreational limits to 40 metres, with the gas planning and narcosis awareness that requires.Wreck DiverDiving wrecks safely, and understanding where external touring ends and penetration begins.Sidemount DiverCarrying cylinders at your sides — redundancy, streamlining and access through restrictions.Advanced NitroxHigh-oxygen decompression gases and oxygen-clean equipment — not ordinary recreational Nitrox.

Decompression Procedures Course Names by Training Agency

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

TDITaught as “Decompression Procedures”.PADITaught as “Tec 45/50”.IANTDTaught as “Technical Diver”.RAIDTaught as “Deco 50”.

Australian Dive Centres Offering Decompression Procedures

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

Scuba World MooloolabaA Mooloolaba SSI Instructor Training Center with air, Nitrox and oxygen, Extended Range and rebreather programmes, and boat trips to up to 15 local reef sites.Go Dive BrisbaneA Windsor dive centre founded in 2000, operating as a PADI Instructor Development Centre and TecRec Centre with a large Scubapro and TUSA showroom.Dive Dive DiveA long-standing Brisbane business associated with technical training alongside recreational courses, retail and servicing. Technical capability should be audited service by service rather than assumed.Manta Lodge & Scuba CentreNorth Stradbroke Island's only full-service scuba centre and an SSI Instructor Training Center, with two boats, on-site lodging, and technical and freediving training.Scuba Haven Port MacquarieA Port Macquarie SSI centre offering air and Nitrox, equipment servicing, and boat, shore and river dives around Port Macquarie and Laurieton.Feet First DiveA Nelson Bay SSI centre running Broughton Island boat dives and Port Stephens shore dives, with rebreather and Extended Range training.Grey Nurse ChartersA PADI-registered dive boat running charters around Port Stephens, Newcastle and Swansea, with PADI courses to Divemaster and TecRec.Dive SwanseaAn SSI Instructor Training Center 60 metres from the Swansea Bridge shore dive, with boat trips to Moon Island and rebreather and Extended Range training.Dive Centre ManlyA Northern Beaches operation with a long-standing presence at Shelly Beach, offering recreational training, boat diving and technical pathways.Frog Dive SydneyA Willoughby PADI 5 Star IDC founded in 1985, teaching recreational through Trimix and rebreather courses with PADI, SDI and TDI, and testing cylinders in-store.Abyss Scuba DivingA Sydney operation associated with training across recreational and technical levels, boat diving and equipment services.Dive Centre BondiAn Eastern Suburbs PADI 5 Star IDC on Bondi Road teaching through Instructor and technical levels, with air, Nitrox and Trimix fills and manufacturer-approved servicing.

Decompression Procedures Guides and Comparisons

Planning guides and comparisons connected to the skills on this course.

PADI TecRec versus SSI Extended RangeTDI versus PADI TecRec

Decompression Procedures Course FAQs

Is decompression diving dangerous?

It carries risks that recreational diving is specifically designed to avoid. Managed with proper training, redundancy and conservative planning, it is undertaken safely by many divers.

Can my recreational computer handle decompression?

Many modern computers display decompression obligations, but technical diving generally uses computers with technical algorithms, gas switching support and a backup device or tables.

Sources

What the verified statements on this page are based on. We link primary sources so you can check them yourself — and so you can see the date they were consulted.