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Title / Instruct and assess client rescue SCUBA dives in open water
Level / 6 / Credits / 5
Purpose / People credited with this unit standard are able to: instruct and assess clients’ knowledge of rescue diving, clients’ use of supplemental oxygen, and clients’ first aid administration for dive incidents; plan and prepare for instruction and assessment of client rescue dives; and instruct and assess client rescue SCUBA dives in open water.
Classification / Diving > Diving-Instruction
Available grade / Achieved
Entry information
Critical health and safety prerequisites / Hold a current fit to dive medical clearance signed by a physician.
People seeking credit for this unit standard must hold either PADI Divemaster certification and have completed an Instructor Training Course, or SSI Dive Control Specialist certification and have completed an Instructor Development Course, or demonstrate equivalent knowledge and skills.
Explanatory notes
1Industry technical and safety criteria refer to dive instruction, supervision and performance being carried out in accordance with the standards, procedures and training materials of the respective dive training agency. The agency must meet or exceed the World Recreational Scuba Training Council training standards.
2All dive operations must comply with the requirements of the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, the Health and Safety in Employment Regulations 1995, the Accident Compensation Act 2001, AS/NZS 2299.3:2003 Occupational diving operations – Recreational industry diving and snorkelling operations and the Guidelines for Occupational Diving 2004.
3Sufficiency for this unit standard requires a minimum of two open water dives.
4Definitions
Assessment refers to the candidate instructor’s assessment of a group of divers applying industry technical and safety criteria. A group is considered to be a minimum of two people.
Clients refer to individuals who are certified as open water divers.
Dive plan refers to the procedures by which the accredited dive provider’s divingoperations are implemented for all dives required to meet this standard.
Instruction refers to the candidate instructor’s act of imparting knowledge or skills as per industry technical and safety criteria.
Open water is any natural body of water realistic of local diving conditions in terms of water movement, temperature, visibility, depth and aquatic life.
PADI refers to the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
SCUBA refers to Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.
SSI refers to Scuba Schools International.
5Assessment may be undertaken in simulated conditions.
Outcomes and evidence requirements
Outcome 1
Instruct and assess clients’ knowledge of rescue diving.
Evidence requirements
1.1Clients are instructed and assessed on rescue diving knowledge in accordance with industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangemay include but is not limited to – the physical causes of stress on a diver, the psychological causes of stress on a diver, recognising and dealing with diver stress, accident management in relation to diving, first aid requirements in relation to diving;
a minimum of two is required.
Outcome 2
Instruct and assess clients’ use of supplemental oxygen.
Evidence requirements
2.1Clients are instructed and assessed to prepare oxygen equipment in accordance with industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangemay include but is not limited to – constant flow regulator, multi-function regulator, demand valve, unique delivery systems, fitting regulator to cylinder, flow rates, ventilation pocket mask, non re breather mask, simple face mask, nasal canula, bag valve mask, safety considerations;
a minimum of four is required.
2.2Clients are instructed and assessed to administer supplemental oxygen in accordance with industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangebreathing patient, non-breathing patient.
Outcome 3
Instruct and assess clients’ first aid administration for dive incidents.
Evidence requirements
3.1Clients are instructed and assessed to administer first aid for dive incidents in accordance with industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangemay include but is not limited to – respiratory and cardiac arrest, control of bleeding, shock, head, neck or back injury, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, hypothermia, near drowning, cramps, exhaustion, decompression illnesses, barotraumas, contaminated air, aquatic life injuries;
a minimum of sixis required.
Outcome 4
Plan and prepare for instruction and assessment of client rescue SCUBAdives.
Evidence requirements
4.1Dive planning and preparation is conducted and parameters established for client rescue dives in accordance with industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangepre dive briefing, dive objective, assessment of dive site and environmental conditions, hazard identification, emergency procedures, maximum depth and bottom time, returning air pressure, entry and exit procedures, descent and ascent procedures, direction, communication, safety and specialist equipment setup, instructor and client dive equipment selection, assembly and checks, buddy team selection and checks, roles and responsibilities including that of topside personnel.
Outcome 5
Instruct and assess client rescue SCUBA dives in open water.
Evidence requirements
5.1Client rescue dive planning and preparation is assessed in accordance with the dive plan and industry technical and safety criteria.
5.2Clients are instructed and assessed to conduct rescue dives in accordance with a dive plan and industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangeentry, descent, buoyancy control, monitoring of time, depth, air supply, equipment, direction, proximity to buddy, underwater communication, ascent, exit.
5.3Clients are instructed and assessed to conduct rescue skills of self and buddy for open water dive incident situations in accordance with industry technical and safety criteria.
Rangemay include but is not limited to – out of air emergencies, cramp removal, fatigued diver, panicked diver, unconscious diver at the surface, unconscious diver underwater, missing diver, egress, oxygen administration, transporting and evacuation;
a minimum of two self-rescues and four buddy rescues is required.
5.4Post dive procedures are conducted in accordance with the dive plan and industry technical and safety criteria.
Range debriefing, client feedback regarding skill performance and adherence to the dive plan, logging dives.
Replacement information / This unit standard replaced unit standard 8275.Planned review date / 31 December 2019
Status information and last date for assessment for superseded versions
Process / Version / Date / Last Date for AssessmentRegistration / 1 / 20 November 2014 / N/A
Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR) reference / 0099
This CMR can be accessed at
Please note
Providers must be granted consent to assess against standards (accredited) by NZQA, before they can report credits from assessment against unit standards or deliver courses of study leading to that assessment.
Industry Training Organisations must be granted consent to assess against standards by NZQA before they can register credits from assessment against unit standards.
Providers and Industry Training Organisations, which have been granted consent and which are assessing against unit standards must engage with the moderation system that applies to those standards.
Requirements for consent to assess and an outline of the moderation system that applies to this standard are outlined in the Consent and Moderation Requirements (CMR). The CMR also includes useful information about special requirements for organisations wishing to develop education and training programmes, such as minimum qualifications for tutors and assessors, and special resource requirements.
Comments on this unit standard
Please contact Skills Active Aotearoa Limited you wish to suggest changes to the content of this unit standard.
Skills Active Aotearoa LimitedSSB Code 101576 / New Zealand Qualifications Authority 2018