Cairns, QLD / Great Barrier Reef
Divers Den
Applications from qualified PADI Divemasters and instructors through the Work with Divers Den section. Include professional certification, logged experience and available dates.
AUSTRALIA · JOB GUIDE
Dive instructor / divemaster jobs in Australia
Explore paid diving work once you have professional qualifications. Divemaster and instructor jobs have different responsibilities, and a recreational certificate alone is not enough.
Illustrative photo
This could suit you if…
You hold the appropriate professional diving qualification and enjoy helping others explore underwater.
The trade-offs
Recreational certification is not enough for professional roles. Training packages and internships are not automatically paid jobs, and liveaboards mean time away.
What would I actually do?
Divemasters and instructors work with divers, prepare equipment and support safe trips. Guiding already-certified divers is different from teaching and certifying students, so these are separate professional entry routes.
A recreational diving qualification is not a professional employment qualification. Some operators recruit instructors for their entire dive crew, while others also recruit divemasters.
Professional courses and internships are also sold by dive businesses. A training place is different from a paid job; use the course section for training and the employer section for recruitment.
Liveaboard work means being away on the vessel for the trip. Accommodation during a trip is different from housing between trips.
What do I need before applying?
A divemaster qualification and an instructor qualification lead to different work. Guiding certified divers is different from teaching and certifying students. Match your professional level and logged experience to the role.
Professional status, medical fitness, first aid and oxygen/AED training can form part of recruitment requirements. Instructor jobs can also specify a teaching agency, ratings and additional credentials. The employer listings below identify published requirements without treating one operator’s list as an industry-wide rule.
Courses & training
Check the PADI starting requirements
PADI’s Divemaster entry requirements include age 18, Rescue Diver and prerequisite diver qualifications, at least 40 logged dives, recent first aid/CPR and medical clearance within 12 months. Have a provider review your logbook and existing certifications before you pay, particularly if you trained through another agency.
Professional courses — Divers Den, Cairns
Divers Den offers Divemaster and Instructor Development courses plus longer training programmes. Its professional-course page publishes Divemaster from AUD 3,379 and IDC at AUD 4,355. These are course prices; professional applications, exams, medicals, equipment and accommodation may be additional. A Divemaster course and an instructor course lead to different responsibilities.
Divers Den professional courses
A second Divemaster route — PRO DIVE Sydney
PRO DIVE Sydney describes a part-time Divemaster programme involving shore and boat diving, assisting courses and practical skills. Entry depends on existing diver qualifications and logged dives. This Sydney provider is separate from Pro Dive Cairns, the employer listed on this page.
Which companies can I contact?
Official recruitment routes checked 17 October 2026. Read the role details for current vacancies and work-rights requirements.
Cairns, QLD / Great Barrier Reef
Pro Dive Cairns
Recruits PADI instructors for dive crew and asks for a long-term commitment. Read the detailed qualifications and email your CV through the employment page. A divemaster certificate alone does not meet its stated standard.
Cairns, Port Douglas and Green Island, QLD
Quicksilver Group
Marine tourism careers across the group, including dive instructors and customer service. Some instructor roles require language skills or additional marine credentials.
What should I put in my application?
The two Cairns employer pages below provide direct application or career-enquiry instructions. Include your professional level, teaching status, logged experience, languages, safety qualifications and availability.
Pro Dive Cairns describes long-term employment, which matters if your travel plans are short. Ask whether there is a paid vacancy suited to your qualifications and visa conditions before relocating. Confirm a paid vacancy and start date before making travel arrangements.
What can you earn?
For overnight-charter employees covered by the Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award, the divemaster/dive-instructor classification has a minimum daily rate of $229.34 for permanent employees. Casual employees receive an additional 25%.
The published hourly equivalents are $30.18 permanent and $37.73 casual. Overnight trips are paid using the award’s charter-length calculation, not by multiplying every hour aboard: a two-day/one-night charter uses 200% of the daily rate.
Rates from 1 July 2026, before tax and excluding super. This is a liveaboard award benchmark; a land-based dive shop or different operation is not automatically covered. The overnight rate already compensates for weekend and public-holiday work.
Sources & further reading
prodivecairns.com — employment
diversden.com.au — professional dive courses
Employer information and requirements checked 17 October 2026. Recruitment pages may change; confirm the terms of your own role.
Check specified-work requirements for your visa
Course providers and qualification pathways
Training information checked 17 October 2026. Compare the full fee, study dates and eligibility for your situation.
Quicksilver Group — official recruitment · checked 17 October 2026