With reference to the role of AusSAR (Australian Search and Rescue) in the unsuccessful search for the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs vessel the Malu Sara in October 2005: At 0215 hours on 15 October 2005 when the Malu Sara reported taking on water and sinking fast, was AusSAR in a position to immediately assume responsibility for overall coordination of the search if it had chosen to do so; if not, why not.

No. If AMSA had been requested by the Queensland Police to assume responsibility for responding to Malu Sara, AMSA was in a position to do so immediately. However, the Inter-Governmental Agreement on National Search and Rescue Response Arrangements emphasises the cooperative nature of search and rescue arrangements and that the transfer of overall coordination is by mutual consent between search and rescue authorities in accordance with the procedures established by the National Search and Rescue Manual. It would not be appropriate for AMSA to act unilaterally with respect to an action already under coordination by another search and rescue authority. The Queensland Police did not request AMSA to assume overall coordination at that time and AMSA did not offer to do so, as the Queensland Police was best placed to coordinate the response to the vessel at that time.