Ports North operates four declared security regulated ports in Far North Queensland, the Port of Cairns, Cape Flattery, Mourilyan and Thursday Island (Port Kennedy), plus Karumba and several smaller Queensland ports under its own access arrangements rather than a declaration. One MSIC covers all four, and every other regulated port and offshore facility in Australia, and this page brings together what applies at each and how to get your card through ClientView.
Illustration of the port, not a photograph.
Each port below is separately declared a security regulated port under the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003. One MSIC covers all of them, and every other regulated port and offshore facility in Australia.
Each port below shows the participating Australia Post outlet closest to it, but you do not have to use that one. Any participating outlet in Australia can verify your identity, and for most people the easiest one is near home, not near the wharf. Not every Post Office offers the service, so use our one-minute guide to find one that does: Find an Australia Post MSIC verifier near you.
The regulated wharves sit inside Maritime Security Zones restricted to people with business aboard or bona fide visitors.
Verify your identity at
Cairns Post Office, 38-44 Sheridan St, Cairns City QLD 4870
Verify your identity at
None on Thursday Island; the nearest outlets offering the identity check are on the mainland at Weipa and Cairns
An MSIC shows you have passed the AusCheck background check. Your port or terminal operator decides who enters, and runs the inductions, permits and access cards. Ports North states that an MSIC is not an access control card and does not on its own provide the right of entry to a facility; entry is managed by the Maritime Industry Participant or the facility operator. Source: Ports North, Security & MSIC, checked 16 September 2026.
Ports North's own Security & MSIC page states: "Anyone who requires access within a Maritime Security Zone will need to apply for and wear a Maritime Security Identification Card (MSIC)." It adds: "A MSIC is not an access control card, and possession of an MSIC does not provide the right of entry to any facility within a Maritime Security Zone. Access to Maritime Security Zones is managed by the Maritime Industry Participant (MIP), or facility operator." The legal test is set by regulation 6.07F(1): anyone who needs unmonitored access to a maritime security zone at one of the four declared Ports North ports at least once each year must hold a valid MSIC.
The same page states: "Ports North no longer processes or issues MSICs." It lists five suggested websites to apply for an MSIC, msic.com.au among them. An MSIC issued by ClientView carries the same AusCheck background check and is valid at every Ports North regulated port, the same as at any other Australian port.
Local induction and site access arrangements at each Ports North location are separate from the MSIC itself. Confirm them with Ports North or your employer before your first visit.
"Ports North no longer processes or issues MSICs. Suggested online websites to apply for a MSIC include:
https://www.fnss.com.au/contact-us.html
https://www.veritasgroup.com.au/msic
https://msic.1-stop.biz
https://www.applymsic.com.au
https://www.msic.com.au/"
Source: Ports North, Security & MSIC, portsnorth.com.au, checked 28 September 2026.
Each of these four is a security regulated port declared under the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003: Port of Cairns (C2020G00985), Cape Flattery (C2023G00191), Mourilyan (C2021G00468) and Thursday Island, also known as Port Kennedy (C2017G00553). Karumba's own declaration was revoked in 2021 (C2021G00435) and it carries no card on this page.
Under regulation 6.07F(1) of the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Regulations 2003, anyone who needs unmonitored access to a maritime security zone at any of the four declared ports at least once each year must hold a valid MSIC. The card is national: issued once, it is valid at all four Ports North locations and at every other regulated port and offshore facility in Australia.
Four steps. We lodge to AusCheck every business day, so nothing sits in a queue at our end.
Fill out the secure online form. Between 20 and 45 minutes online if you have your details to hand.
Visit any of at least 324 Australia Post outlets that offer the MSIC identity check (Australia Post outlet locator, 27 August 2026), or use your trained workplace verifier if your employer has one.
Once you are verified we submit your application to the Department of Home Affairs for the mandatory AusCheck background check.
After approval your MSIC is printed and dispatched by registered post to the address you nominate.
How long it takes
Apply at least six weeks before you need the card, so there is buffer even if your application falls outside the typical range. ClientView's measured processing time data, with its sample size, period and full methodology, is published and refreshed monthly at msic.com.au/msic-processing-times, which is the page that owns that dataset.
One all inclusive price covering the government background check fee, identity and document verification, secure lodgement and postage. No separate verification, finance or postage charges. Prices as at 18 August 2026. You will complete your application on our secure application portal, msic.au.
Get cleared before you get hired.
Job Ready lets you start your AusCheck background check before you have a job.Companies with a trained workplace verifier pay less
If your staff verify identity through your own trained workplace verifier rather than at Australia Post, the rate is $451.82 ex GST for a 2 year card and $765.45 ex GST for a 4 year card, a saving of $27.27 and $9.10 respectively.
If your organisation puts people onto Ports North sites, ClientView's corporate portal lets you apply for, track and renew every MSIC in one place, and bulk applications take a single spreadsheet. Tell us and we will set it up.
If you need unmonitored access to a maritime security zone at the Port of Cairns, Cape Flattery, Mourilyan or Thursday Island (Port Kennedy) at least once each year, yes. Escorted visitors and people who stay outside the security zones do not. Karumba is not currently a declared security regulated port.
Yes. An MSIC is national. One card is valid at every Ports North regulated port and at every other regulated port and offshore facility in Australia.
Yes. ClientView is an Australian Government authorised MSIC issuing body. Ports North's own Security & MSIC page states that "Ports North no longer processes or issues MSICs" and lists five suggested websites to apply for an MSIC, msic.com.au among them; an MSIC issued by ClientView is valid at every Ports North regulated port the same as any other. Call 1300 855 960.
No. Ports North's own page states that an MSIC is not an access control card and does not on its own provide the right of entry. Entry is managed by the Maritime Industry Participant or the facility operator, so confirm current site access and induction requirements before you travel.
At a participating Australia Post outlet. The nearest to each location is shown on its card above; the nearest to you may be closer to home than to the port.
Yes. Site inductions and access arrangements are Ports North's own, on top of the MSIC. Each location above links to Ports North's own Security & MSIC page.
ClientView has issued MSICs as an Australian Government authorised MSIC issuing body since 2005, and has served more than 5,000 companies.
An MSIC can only be issued by a body the Australian Government has authorised under the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Regulations 2003, and the background check behind every card is run by AusCheck. If you are ever unsure about an issuing body, ask AusCheck before you pay.
You do not have to take our word for it. AusCheck publishes the list of MSIC issuing bodies, and you can read it yourself: the AusCheck issuing bodies list.
Ports North's Security & MSIC page states that "Anyone who requires access within a Maritime Security Zone will need to apply for and wear" an MSIC, that "Ports North no longer processes or issues MSICs", and lists five suggested websites to apply for an MSIC, msic.com.au among them.
One all inclusive price for a two year card, covering the government background check fee, identity and document verification, secure lodgement and postage. Prices as at 18 August 2026. See full pricing
ClientView issues your MSIC the same way at every Australian port: same price, same process, same team.
Applications lodged to AusCheck every business day. Transparent pricing, Australian owned, and a local team on the phone when you need one.
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