Course overview

Earn your first professional rating with the SSI Divemaster in Cairns and start your career on the Great Barrier Reef. Using SSI's free digital training platform, heated pools and liveaboard trips to outer reefs such as Flynn, Milln and Thetford, you build the theory, fitness and leadership ability to guide certified divers and assist instructors. It is the recognised stepping stone toward becoming an SSI instructor.

What you’ll learn

• Apply SSI dive theory through the digital Divemaster training platform
• Demonstrate leadership through stamina, rescue and skill assessments
• Map and brief outer-reef dive sites and conduct guided reef dives
• Assist instructors with student divers in confined and open water
• Supervise certified divers and manage groups in real reef conditions
• Handle dive-site logistics, risk assessment and emergency procedures

Prerequisites

• Minimum age 18
• SSI Advanced Adventurer (or equivalent) and Diver Stress & Rescue certifications
• Current first-aid and CPR training (React Right) within the last 24 months
• At least 40 logged dives to begin and the required total to certify
• Diver medical clearance signed by a physician

What's included · What's not

Probability of sightings · month-by-month

What you're likely to see each month, based on historic operator logs.

Day-by-day itinerary

1. Day1
   Theory and assessment

   Start the SSI digital Divemaster modules and complete water-skills and stamina assessments in the pool.
2. Day2
   Leadership skills

   Refine rescue and demonstration-quality skills and begin practical-application workshops.
3. Day3
   Site mapping and briefings

   Map an outer-reef dive site, prepare and deliver dive briefings, and run search patterns.
4. Day4
   Course internship

   Assist an instructor with student divers in confined water and on early training dives.
5. Day5
   Outer-reef leadership

   Join a liveaboard trip to guide and supervise certified divers at Flynn, Milln or Thetford Reefs.
6. Day6
   Final evaluation

   Complete remaining assessments, logbook sign-offs and your professional SSI Divemaster certification.

Verified through iDive

Every partner school in the iDive network is vetted on safety, instructor credentials, equipment standards and student feedback. Talk to a iDive dive pro on WhatsApp for current availability and reviews specific to Cairns.

Frequently asked questions