Specific Needs & Assistance

At Spirit of Tasmania, we are committed to ensuring that all passengers enjoy a safe and comfortable journey.

It is important for us to know in advance if you are travelling with reduced mobility, have a medical condition including being discharged from hospital 72 hours prior to travel or using medical oxygen, hearing or vision impaired, need to be accompanied by a Guide/Hearing Dog or Assistance Animal.

Passengers whose specific needs and assistance is listed below and travel is not within the next 72 hours can book online. When booking online, requests for specific needs or accessibility requirements must be advised by completing the specific needs and assistance requirement form. The form will be available on completion of your booking. Alternatively, click here if you have an existing booking number. Alternatively, please Contact Us.

Requests for travel inside 72 hours or to book an accessible cabin and recliner is only available via our Terminal and Customer Contact Centre.

So we can plan for your arrival and ensure your travel is hassle-free, passengers travelling with specific needs and assistance requirements must check in at least 2 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Passengers using a wheelchair, gopher, scooter, crutches, or a walker to aid their mobility, are required to board and disembark via our People Mover.

Ships wheelchairs are only available for boarding and disembarking, passengers requiring a wheelchair for the duration of the sailing must supply their own.

Passengers travelling with reduced mobility and require any of the following assistance must complete the specific needs and assistance requirement form. The form will be available on completion of your booking. Alternatively, click here if you have an existing booking number.

• Ship wheelchair required for boarding and disembarking
• Requires space at rear/side of vehicle for loading and unloading mobility aid
• Hold a valid Accessible Parking Permit or use a mobility aid such as wheelchair, gopher, scooter, crutches, walker
• People Mover Required

Mobility assistance facilities:

Three Bed Private Accessible Cabin

Each Ship has two accessible cabins. This accommodation category is exclusively for passengers requiring wheelchair access, reduced mobility and passengers with vision impairment.

To book please Contact Us.

• Accessible Recliners. Each Ship has two accessible recliners which are close to Accessible Toilets and within reach of emergency alarm/call buttons. (Note: Recliner Lounge entry 930mm wide)

• Accessible Toilets on Deck 7 and Deck 10. Please refer to the ship map (link to ship map) for exact locations. (Note: Toilet entry 880mm wide)

• Corridors in the cabin accommodation are 900mm wide, vehicle deck entry ways are 890mm and Orange lift ramps are 800mm wide (Lifts open to 980mm wide). Please take into consideration these dimensions with respect to the size of any mobility aid you intend to use on board. Should the mobility aid exceed the dimensions, you will not be able to use the mobility aid on board.

If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment, please contact Spirit of Tasmania through the National Relay Service:

• TTY users phone 1800 555 677 then ask for 1800 634 906;
• Speak and Listen users phone 1800 555 727 then ask for 1800 634 906;
• Internet relay users connect to the NRS then ask for 1800 634

Hearing impaired passengers must advise us via the specific needs and assistance requirement form.

Once on board, please visit the Purser at Reception on Deck 7. This is to ensure the Pursers on board are aware that you are travelling and they can provide further assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency.

Travelling soon? Watch our Passenger Safety Video with Auslan interpretation prior to travelling:

If you are travelling with a Hearing Dog, please see our information on Travelling with a Guide/Hearing Dog or Assistance Animal.

Vision impaired passengers must advise us via the specific needs and assistance requirement form.

Once on board, please visit the Purser at Reception on Deck 7. This is to ensure the Pursers on board are aware that you are travelling and they can provide further assistance in the unlikely event of an emergency .

If you are travelling with a Guide Dog, please see our information on Travelling with a Guide/Hearing Dog or Assistance Animal.

Medical equipment designed to aid in the monitoring or treatment of medical conditions such as a CPAP machine and Nebulisers must adhere to the ships rating: Voltage 230V and Frequency 60Hz.

Please check the rating on your equipment to ensure it complies. If you are unsure, please report to the Purser at Reception on Deck 7. They will have your equipment checked by the ship’s electrician. Note: please bring your own extension leads.

Small or medium size medical oxygen bottles are permitted. Passengers are permitted one bottle and one spare per passenger. Oxygen bottles are not permitted to remain in the vehicle, all bottles must be taken up to passenger deck.

A hoist or commode is not available on the Ship, passengers are welcome to bring their own.

Passengers travelling with medical oxygen, hoist or commode must complete the specific needs and assistance requirement form.

• Travelling with hoist | Commode
• Travelling with medical oxygen cylinder

Spirit of Tasmania has a medical attendant travelling on all sailings who is available to provide assistance in an emergency situation.

Medical clearance is required for all passengers who have been discharged from hospital or have had a surgical procedure within 72 hours of their scheduled travel date (excludes outpatient appointments) and for all passengers with life-threatening medical conditions.

Medical clearance is also required for travel between 36 and 38 weeks pregnant at the time of travel. Travel is not permitted for 38 weeks pregnant or more.

Where medical clearance is required for a passenger as set out above, for the safety and wellbeing of the passenger and to avoid  any delay at check-in, a completed Medical Alert form must be submitted at least 48 hours prior to scheduled departure time.

In some situations, if a medical clearance is given and approved by Spirit of Tasmania, travel may be permitted. A treating doctor or authorised medical practitioner is required to complete a Medical Alert form.

Passengers who require medical clearance must complete the specific needs and assistance requirement form.

For the purposes of this section, an assistance animal is a dog or other animal that meets one of the criteria at points 1, 2 or 3
below:

1. accredited under a law of a State or Territory of Australia that provides for the accreditation of animals trained to assist
   a person with a disability to alleviate the effect of the disability; or
2. accredited by an animal training organisation prescribed under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth); or
3. trained to both:
   1. assist a person with a disability to alleviate the effect of the disability; and
   2. meet standards of hygiene and behaviour that are appropriate for an animal in a public place.

By way of example, assistance animals might fall into three categories:

• guide dogs – dogs that assist a person to alleviate the effects of a vision impairment
• hearing dogs – dogs that assist a person to alleviate the effects of a hearing impairment
• other assistance animals – animals that assist a person to overcome the effects of a diagnosed disability (including physical,
  sensory or psychological disabilities), other than a vision or hearing impairment.

If you need to bring an assistance animal on board, you must provide acceptable evidence that your assistance animal is appropriately accredited or trained as described in points 1, 2 or 3 above. This evidence must be provided at the time of booking.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss the evidence required to show that an assistance animal is appropriately accredited or trained. Only approved assistance animals are allowed on passenger decks.

While on board, you must ensure that your assistance animal remains under your control or under the control of another person on your behalf.

Passengers wishing to travel with an assistance animal should be aware of, and comply with, the other requirements for animals generally when travelling with us, including biosecurity requirements for bringing animals to Tasmania. Further information can be found on our website or by contacting us.

Passengers requesting to travel with an Assistance Animal must complete the specific needs and assistance requirement form.

[Download Ship Map]

Passengers requiring help and support with any of the following activities or circumstances are required to travel with a carer. 

• Purchasing food or drinks
• Eating and drinking
• Using the bathroom
• Administering medication or operating medical equipment
• Boarding and disembarkation
• Carry-on baggage and equipment

Carers are required to be self-reliant and able to assist the passenger with all activities. Carers meeting the following criteria are eligible for a pensioner fare:

• The adult person they care for must be a recipient and holder of an Australian Pensioner Concession Card
• The carer must travel on the same booking with the pensioner they care for
• A carer is entitled to the pensioner fare providing they are not a professional carer
• A carer travelling with a TPI pensioner card holder is entitled to the discount

Availability and eligibility for a pensioner fare refer to our Terms and Conditions - Pensioner Eligibility

Passengers utilising a mobility aid such as a wheelchair, gopher, electric scooter, crutches, or a walker, can request to board the vessel via the people mover.

Passengers must check in 2 hours prior to the scheduled departure time and upon arrival, report to Deck 7 Reception, allowing up to a 45 minute delay when disembarking.

The People mover collects and drops off passengers to and from the terminal buildings.