Can Kids Scuba Dive? Ages in Australia

Yes. With PADI or SSI, children can try scuba in a pool from age 8 and earn a junior Open Water certification from 10, with depth and buddy limits until they turn 15. The catch in Australia is that ages on the water are often higher than the agency minimums: Queensland's code of practice sets 12 as the minimum for an open-water try dive, and several shops we checked start their junior courses at 12.

Here is how the ages work, what each agency allows, what the Queensland rules actually say, what dive doctors advise, and what it costs. It is general information: whether your child is medically fit to dive is a question for a dive doctor.

The ages at a glance

From 8: pool programs

- PADI Bubblemaker: a first breath underwater in water shallower than 2 metres, directly supervised by a PADI professional. Children need to be comfortable in the water; no experience is needed. - PADI Seal Team: a multi-day pool program for 8-year-olds and up, built around themed "AquaMissions" such as buoyancy, navigation and underwater photos. - SSI Try Scuba: minimum age 8, maximum training depth 5 metres. SSI also recommends its Explorers program for ages 8 to 12; Explorers starts at age 6 with snorkelling.

From 10: the first real dives and certification

- PADI Discover Scuba Diving: a supervised try dive from age 10, to a maximum of 6 metres in the pool and 12 metres in open water. Our guide to Discover Scuba Diving explains how it works. - PADI Junior Open Water Diver: ages 10 to 14. It is the same course as the adult Open Water, with smaller groups and shallower limits. - SSI Open Water Diver: minimum age 10; younger teens certify as SSI Junior Open Water Divers.

From 12 and at 15

- PADI Junior Advanced Open Water opens at 12 and takes 12 to 14-year-olds to 21 metres. - At 15, junior cards become adult cards. PADI says the upgrade is automatic, and any replacement card ordered after the 15th birthday prints without the word "Junior".

PADI and SSI both require a parent or guardian's approval for under-18s. For where these fit into the bigger picture, see PADI Course Levels Explained and our PADI vs SSI vs NAUI comparison.

Junior depth and buddy limits

The limits change at 12, and both big agencies draw the line in the same place.

- Ages 10 and 11: PADI says they must dive with a PADI professional or a certified parent or guardian, no deeper than 12 metres. SSI's standards recommend the same 12 metres, with an active dive professional or a certified adult. - Ages 12 to 14: PADI juniors may go to 18 metres but only with a certified adult. SSI's Junior Open Water limit is also 18 metres. - During training, PADI caps the ratio for 10 and 11-year-olds at four students per instructor, with no more than two children of that age in the group.

Queensland: is the minimum age 10 or 12?

Both, depending on the activity, which is why you will see different numbers quoted.

Queensland's *Recreational Diving, Recreational Technical Diving and Snorkelling Code of Practice 2024* says operators should ensure:

- people training for an entry-level certificate (a course such as Open Water) are at least 10; - people doing a non-certified dive (a one-off try dive) are at least 12; - anyone under 18 has a parent's or guardian's consent, and for a try dive the parent or guardian signs the medical declaration as a witness.

The state's regulation does not cover diving in a swimming pool, so pool programs such as Bubblemaker sit outside these rules.

Operators reflect the split. Pro Dive Cairns says the minimum age to learn to dive in Queensland is 10. Quicksilver, in Port Douglas, gives 12 as its minimum age for diving; Reef Magic says the legal minimum is 12, with parental permission for anyone under 18; and Sunlover Reef Cruises takes intro divers from 12, with a consenting parent or guardian present for under-18s. In practice, a 10 or 11-year-old can do a full course in Queensland with a willing school, but is unlikely to be accepted for a one-off try dive on a reef boat.

Outside Queensland, shops set their own minimums too. Dive Centre Bondi usually teaches from 12 because the gear is heavy for younger children, but will meet 10 and 11-year-olds to check they fit the wetsuits and can carry the kit. Geo Divers in Clyde asks for juniors to be 12 or older. Scuba World on the Sunshine Coast runs its junior course for 12 to 14-year-olds, and Abyss Scuba Diving in Sydney teaches 10 to 12-year-olds one-on-one, with group courses from 13. Always ask before you book.

What dive doctors say

The South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society (SPUMS) published a position statement on children and adolescents in December 2024, and folded it into the sixth edition of its diving medical guidelines in 2025. The key points:

- SPUMS does not recommend diving for children under 10. It treats 10 to 14-year-olds as a separate group; adult guidelines apply from 15. - Every child should see a doctor first. Under the agency system, adults only see a doctor when the questionnaire says so; SPUMS says every child should have a medical assessment before scuba training, by a doctor with extra training in diving medicine who keeps up with the risks for children, with parents involved. SPUMS publishes a questionnaire for parents of 10 to 14-year-olds to take along. - Some conditions rule children out even where an adult might be cleared, including epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), any asthma (even well controlled), congenital heart disease (even if repaired), type 1 diabetes, migraine with aura, grommets in the ears, bleeding disorders, and not being able to swim. - Supervision matters most. SPUMS recommends at least two certified adults with each young diver, one who knows the child well; the child within arm's length and in sight at all times; and no expectation that the child could rescue an adult. - Gear should fit the child: a wetsuit thick enough for the water temperature, kit they can carry, and preferably weights built into the BCD (buoyancy control device) rather than a belt that could slip off and send them shooting to the surface.

SPUMS is candid about the evidence. Diving by properly assessed and supervised children appears relatively safe, and 5 of the 531 scuba deaths in the Australasian Diving Safety Foundation's records from 1966 to 2020 were children aged 8 to 15. But the data are thin, so SPUMS takes a conservative line.

DAN (Divers Alert Network) makes similar points. Children are not small adults: their Eustachian tubes (the passages that equalise the ears) are still developing, which raises the risk of ear infections and ear squeeze; they lose heat faster; and their judgement under stress is still maturing. When DAN reviewed 149 emergency calls involving minors from 2014 to 2016, ear and sinus problems were the most common injury (32 per cent), lung over-expansion injuries made up 15 per cent and decompression sickness only 6 per cent. Anxiety leading to a rapid ascent was a common thread. DAN's authors suggest a buddy team of two adults and the child. DAN also notes there is no evidence that diving harms growing bones.

For the SPUMS view in plain language, the Australasian Diving Safety Foundation has a short video on the position statement.

Is your child ready?

Age is the minimum, not the green light. Drawing on SPUMS and DAN, look for a child who:

- wants to do it themselves, rather than to please you. SPUMS asks doctors to check for pressure from parents; - swims comfortably. The Open Water course itself asks for a 200-metre swim and a 10-minute float; - clears their ears easily when snorkelling or duck-diving in a pool (our equalisation guide explains the technique); - follows instructions and stays calm when something goes wrong, and tells an adult when they feel unwell or scared. DAN points out that children often miss subtle warning signs or keep quiet about them; - can manage the gear: carrying their own kit, and staying warm in the right wetsuit (see our wetsuit thickness guide).

DAN suggests a blunt test of maturity: if it were legal and they were trained, would you let this child drive on the open highway? If the answer is no, a pool program is the right next step, not open water. A Bubblemaker or Try Scuba session is a low-stakes way to find out how a child really feels underwater.

What it costs

Prices checked October 2026 from operators' own pages:

- Bubblemaker, Geo Divers (Clyde, Sydney): $245 for a session of about an hour in water no deeper than 2 metres. - Intro dive, Sunlover Reef Cruises (Cairns): $149 for a first dive and $99 for a second, ages 12 and over, added to a Moore Reef day trip fare. - Intro dive, Reef Magic (Cairns): from $138 booked online or $158 on the day, added to a reef day trip. - PADI Junior Open Water, Geo Divers: $495 ($395 after eLearning), including course materials, certification fees, scuba gear hire, air fills and training. Ages 12 and over, with a diving medical. - PADI Open Water, Dive Centre Bondi: $895, including eLearning, three days of instruction, four ocean dives, all scuba equipment with a 7 mm wetsuit, and certification. Mask and snorkel hire is $25 and boots and fins $25. 12 to 14-year-olds certify as Junior Open Water Divers. - SSI Junior Open Water, Scuba World Mooloolaba: $1,095 for ages 12 to 14: online training, two pool days, four boat dives and gear hire except mask and snorkel ($50 to hire). - PADI Junior Open Water, Frog Dive (Gladesville, Sydney): $595 per listed course date. Frog Dive charges $65 for a new card when a junior upgrades at 15.

Add a dive medical if one is needed: our guide to what disqualifies you covers the medical side. For more shops, browse the Sydney and Cairns dive shop guides.

Diving as a family

Once your child is certified, the junior rules decide who they can dive with, and SPUMS and DAN both suggest adding a second adult. Keep early dives shallow, easy and short, and in tropical Queensland remember that stinger season runs from November to April, when Pro Dive Cairns recommends full-body suits (our box jellyfish guide explains why). For quick answers to other common questions, see our Scuba Diving FAQs.

Sources

- PADI: Bubblemaker - PADI: Seal Team - PADI: Discover Scuba Diving - PADI: Open Water Diver course - PADI Blog: Junior Open Water Diver vs. Open Water Diver - PADI Blog: How Old Do You Have To Be to Scuba Dive? - PADI Blog: Scuba Diving Lessons for Kids - SSI: Try Scuba - SSI: Open Water Diver - SSI: Diving for kids (SSI Explorers) - SSI Blog: Junior Divers, How to Get Your Kids Ready for Scuba Diving - SSI Training Standards: Training Environments and Depth Limits - WorkSafe Queensland: Recreational Diving, Recreational Technical Diving and Snorkelling Code of Practice 2024 (PDF) - Queensland Legislation: Safety in Recreational Water Activities Regulation 2024 - Pro Dive Cairns: 5 Day Learn to Dive - Pro Dive Cairns: FAQ - Quicksilver Cruises: FAQ - Reef Magic Cruises: Scuba Diving - Sunlover Reef Cruises: Introductory Scuba Dive - Dive Centre Bondi: PADI Open Water Course - Geo Divers: Bubblemaker - Geo Divers: Junior Scuba Diver - Scuba World: Learn to Scuba Dive, Junior Open Water - Abyss Scuba Diving: Kids Scuba Diving Lessons - Frog Dive: PADI Junior Open Water Diver - Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine: SPUMS position statement regarding paediatric and adolescent diving (Elliott et al., 2024) (PDF) - SPUMS: Appendix D, Suggested evaluation of the paediatric and adolescent prospective diver (PDF) - SPUMS: The SPUMS diving medical, 6th edition 2025 (PDF) - SPUMS: Diving Questionnaire for Children, 10 to 14 years old (PDF) - SPUMS: Health aspects of children diving - DAN: Children and Diving (Alert Diver, expert panel) - DAN: Children and Diving (Alert Diver, medical Q&A) - DAN World: Children and Diving (review of 149 emergency calls involving minors) - Australasian Diving Safety Foundation: SPUMS Position Statement Regarding Paediatric and Adolescent Diving (YouTube)

Header photo: Young campers in a pool scuba class with their instructor at a Wisconsin National Guard youth camp, by Spc. Kimberly Mianecki, U.S. Army National Guard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.