As a number of people have, over the past eighteen months or so, made
reference to the Queensland Industry Code of Practice relating to
recreational diving - and because there appears to be some confusion over
its intent, I've included the site where the document can be viewed:
http://www.detir.qld.gov.au/hs/icp/icp007.pdf

Essentially it's directed at the dive operators rather than at the diving
'consumer', (although it obviously has a flow-on impact for all divers), and
details things that they *should* do rather than what they *must* do!  :-)

It should be regarded as a minimum standard; one that still leaves
individual operators the freedom to impose their own restrictions on what
diving practices they will allow.  (In which case - as elsewhere in the
world - divers are free to choose an operator that best meets their own
particular diving needs.)

It's by no means perfect.  Few documents of this nature ever are.  It's
unashamedly focussed on safety and aimed at helping protect operators - and
thereby everyone who dives with them.

A separate Code of Practice relating to Technical Diving - covering the use
of mixed gasses, SCR's and CCR's - is still in the discussion stage and has
yet to be finalised.

In both instances they were compiled after extensive public discussion and
input from all sectors of the diving community.  Not with the aim of
imposing un-enforceable restrictions on divers, but rather to cause everyone
involved in diving to think more carefully about safety.

I know that many people are opposed to any sort of controls over diving.
But given the potential for injury the only other alternative in a
safety-conscious society is to accept government imposed legislation.
Something that *would* be restrictive!  :-)

Strike