ABOUT US
We focus on diving training and experience. Diving in cooler waters such as Tasmania is more challenging than diving in the tropics. The advantage of doing your course with us in Tasmania however is that if you can dive here, you can dive anywhere.
We understand that learning to dive and purchasing your equipment is a significant investment and by the end of one of our courses, we want to make sure you are confident to dive unsupervised by the end of your chosen course. For example, it is for this reason we include six dives on the Open Water course (rather than what the standards call for, which is four) because in our experience this is what is required on average to build peoples confidence.
We are the only provider offering mixed gas decompression procedures courses in Tasmania. Much of Tasmania’s best diving is in 40+ meters.
Our instructors are not only amongst the highest qualified in Tasmania but are often marine scientists that can provide deeper insights into our amazing local marine wildlife.
Scuba Diving Tasmania offers PADI, TDI and SDI courses and is a TDI/SDI Training Facility.
Contact us today: info@scubadivingtasmania.com.au
OUR TEAM
Brad Turner established Scuba Diving Tasmania and has over 25 years experience teaching scuba diving. Brad currently holds instructor ratings with PADI as an IDC Staff Instructor, Tec Rec Trimix Instructor, with TDI as a Trimix / Extended Range Instructor and a SDI Instructor. He is a SSI Dive Control Specialist Instructor and is a certified Coxswain.
Brad is one of four instructors in Australia qualified to teach on the rEvo closed circuit rebreather.
Having taught under the standards of the three major Scuba certifying agencies he can confirm that it comes down to the instructor, rather than the agency, when it comes to quality training.
Brad is the only current active trimix technical diving instructor in Tasmania and enjoys teaching people the challenging but rewarding decompression courses utilising mixed gases.
Brad is passionate about seeing people active in the sport of scuba diving and although usually focuses on teaching technical courses just as much enjoys seeing people experience breathing underwater for the first time.
When not teaching diving Brad is regularly diving with various clubs and friends exploring Tasmania’s amazing temperate reefs on his CCR.
Growing up on the West Coast of Tasmania, he also still enjoys catching a few Rock Lobsters or Scallops on a Hookah compressor.
Brad has a degree in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Business Administration.
Joanna Smart is a PADI open water scuba instructor from Hobart, Tasmania. With 15 years of diving experience and more than 600 hours underwater, Joanna’s diving resumé spans all corners of the globe including Australia, Asia, the South Pacific, Europe and North America. Joanna is also a marine scientist and underwater photographer with a particular passion for kelp forests and deep sponge gardens. Joanna was selected as the 2019/2020 Australasian Rolex Scholar of the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society, where she was able to spend 12 months travelling the globe and working with leading experts in scuba diving, underwater photography, and science. In addition to her instructor certifications, Joanna is an ADAS Part 1 restricted occupational diver, TDI extended range technical diver, PADI Advanced rebreather diver and is a certified coxswain. Joanna see’s every dive as an opportunity to find out something new about the ocean and loves introducing students to the underwater world.
Jane Ruckert holds instructor ratings with TDI, SDI and is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer with 7 years’ experience in diver training teaching a wide range of specialties. She is a Dive Officer at the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) at the University of Tasmania. One of the favourite parts of her job is training on the Scientific Diver course. Jane also actively participates in many of diving marine research projects run at IMAS, from counting urchins and handfish, to planting algae and many things in between. Jane is a passionate advocate for the Tasmanian recreational diving scene and is incredibly generous with her time in helping people enjoy our sport. In 2017 she established the ‘Tasmanian Mermaids’ which is an extremely active group of divers that has over 500 members. Whilst everyone is welcome, the contribution this initiative has had in getting women involved in our sport cannot be overstated. When she is not helping others on their diving journey, Jane is an instructor on the AP Inspiration closed circuit rebreather and enjoys underwater photography and videography. Jane would be the perfect choice to start or continue your diving experience with!
Olivia Johnson is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor with over 10 years of diving experience in both the recreational and scientific industry. Liv holds first-class honours in Marine & Antarctic Science and is currently undertaking her PhD where she is investigating how to safeguard threatened reef species around Australia. Liv has spent time working in the Maldives as a marine biologist and was fortunate enough to be named the 2018 Our World Underwater Scholarship Society’s Australasian Rolex Scholar, where she spent a year immersed underwater, learning from global leaders in all things diving and science related. Getting to dive in places such as Alaska, California, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands to name a few, Liv has gained an immense amount of worldly experience in a suite of diving settings. She also has years of experience on a variety of projects as a research assistant for the Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies in Hobart, with her role primarily focused on SCUBA-based and CCR scientific surveys, and time spend on voyages south with the Australian Antarctic Division as a krill biologist. As well as being an instructor, Liv holds certifications as an ADAS Part 1 Restricted Occupational diver, TDI Closed-Circuit Rebreather diver, TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression diver, Scientific diver. Liv is also a certified coxswain. Liv’s major interests lie in marine ecology and conservation, with a love for underwater photography and showing others our magnificent underwater world and it’s inhabitants.
Max (Shuyue) Zheng is a PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor based in Hobart with migrant experience. Max has over 8 years of diving experience, primarily in south east Asia and Tasmania which allows Max to teach in both English and Mandarin.
With special interests in underwater photography, Max is passionate about introducing the magic of the ocean to others through her lens and encourage more people to get involved in marine conservation.
When teaching, Max values every student’s experience and endeavours to provide the best experience with her course. Outside of instructing, Max loves to spend time finding little sea critters and practicing macro underwater photography. She believes that it is a privilege to see and appreciate the beauty of the world under the surface, but luckily, anyone can do it through scuba diving.