National Search and Rescue Manual
Published by AMSA on behalf of the Australian National Search and Rescue Council.
The manual was originally made available on the Internet in September 2003. Since then, a number of editorial changes have been made. An annual amendments program is conducted coinciding with the report of the meetings of the National Search and Rescue Council. In 2009, the Manual was brought into colour, in keeping with the Web style.
The NATSARMAN in it's entirety can be found here : National Search and Rescue Manual 
© The National Search and Rescue Manual is copyright. The reproduction of this work in whole or in part is invited for search and rescue purposes other than commercial purposes provided due acknowledgment is given to the Australian National Search and Rescue Council.
Amendments
Amendment sheets are included online to show what changes have been made annually. If you are maintaining a printed version of the Manual, you might find it worthwhile to have a look at the amendment sheets as some amendments to Chapters or Appendices might be small enough to only require a manuscript amendment, thereby saving some printing.
Printing
For ease of keeping manuals printed from the Internet up to date, each chapter and appendix has the latest revision date noted in the index below. The most recent changes are highlighted in BOLD.
The National SAR Council and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority are unable to provide hard copies of the SAR Manuals. To print the manual in it's entirety, simply open the PDF link above and print from the toolbar.
Accessing the National SAR Manual by Sections
( pdf files - maximum size approx. 2.5 MB; average size 0.2 MB).
Last revision date shown in [ dd/MM/YY]
For ease of reference, the Manual has been divided into individual sections, with the date of the most recent amendment as show. The most recently approved amendments have been indicated below in Bold.
Chapters
| Foreword | [20 Jul 11] | |
| Introduction | [20 Jul 11] | |
| Defence Letter of Promulgation | [20 Jul 11] | |
| Abbreviations and Acronyms | [20 Jul 11] | |
| Glossary | [20 Jul 11] | |
| Index | Table of Contents | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 1 | Search and Rescue system | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 2 | Communications | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 3 | Awareness and initial action | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 4 | Search planning and evaluation | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 5 | Search techniques and operations | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 6 | Rescue planning and operations | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 7 | Conclusion of SAR operations | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 8 | Training | [20 Jul 11] |
| Chapter 9 | Emergency assistance | [20 Jul 11] |
Appendices
| Appendix A | Search and Rescue Region (SRR) | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix B | Functions and responsibilities | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix C | Inter-Governmental Agreement on National SAR Response Arrangements | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix D | Transfer of coordination form | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix E | Distress and emergency signals | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix F | Maritime SAR recognition code (MAREC) | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix G | Plotting Symbols | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix H | Sighting and hearing technique | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix I | Tables and graphs | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix J | Probable errors of position | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix K | Worksheets | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix L | Aircraft accident site precautions | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix M | Tier capabilities and locations of AMSA supported SRUs | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix N | RAAF SAR equipment and aircraft capabilities | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix O | Royal Australian Navy response | [20 Jul 11] |
| Appendix P | Memoranda of Understanding | [20 Jul 11] |
23 Jun 2009