This document is not static, and it is not amended casually. This page sets out who holds the authority to change it, what kind of change requires what level of approval, and how a change actually takes effect once approved.
Tiered Authority to Amend
Not every change to this document carries the same weight, and the authority required to make one scales accordingly.
Guiding principles and foundational philosophy. Any change to the guiding principles this document opens with, or to the foundational commitments described in its early sections - including the certification-free philosophy at the centre of this institution - requires approval from FlowState Divers Leadership. These sections are the reason every other page in this document exists, and a change here is never treated as routine, regardless of how it's framed.
General standards. Changes to the general standards that apply across every training - depth and gas limits, team size, equipment philosophy, quality processes, and the assessment and evaluation framework - require review and approval jointly by Leadership and the Quality Board, given that these standards sit at the intersection of institutional direction and day-to-day enforcement.
Training-specific standards. Changes to the standards governing an individual programme - a specific curriculum's prerequisites, skill list, or equipment addendum - are proposed and maintained by the Training Directorate, and take effect once reviewed and confirmed consistent with the general standards this document sets out. Leadership is not required to approve every training-specific change individually, but retains authority to intervene where a proposed change appears inconsistent with the principles or general standards above it.
Governance and roles. Changes to how this document itself is governed, including the roles and responsibilities described on the preceding page, require Leadership approval, since these are the mechanisms by which every other kind of change is made and confirmed.
Where Proposed Changes Come From
Amendments do not originate exclusively from the bodies with authority to approve them. As set out earlier in this document, any diver or mentor may raise an error, suggest an edit, or report a field observation, and these submissions are a genuine and expected source of proposed change - not a symbolic gesture with no real path to influence. A proposal reaching this stage still passes through the appropriate approval authority above, based on what kind of change it represents, but where it originates from does not diminish how seriously it's considered.
Review Cycle
This document is reviewed on a standing basis, and formally revisited in full at minimum once per year, regardless of whether any specific proposed change is pending. This ensures the document doesn't simply accumulate patchwork amendments indefinitely without a periodic check on whether it remains internally consistent as a whole.
How a Change Takes Effect
An approved amendment does not take effect the moment it's agreed upon internally. It takes effect once:
- The change is incorporated into the document and assigned an updated version number, consistent with the version history described on the following page.
- The updated version is published through FlowState Divers' official channels and made available to every active mentor and student in our system.
- Where the change materially affects a diver's rights, obligations, or training pathway, mentors are given a reasonable transition period to apply it, rather than an immediate and retroactive shift with no notice.
A change that has been approved internally, but not yet formally published as a new version, does not bind any mentor or diver until it has been.
What Cannot Be Amended by Ordinary Process
Certain matters are not subject to routine amendment through the process above and instead require the same standard of scrutiny (and, in some cases, external legal review) as the original commitments they touch - most notably, any change that would weaken the retention, confidentiality, or data protection obligations described elsewhere in this document below what applicable law actually requires. Amendment authority exists to keep this document current and correct. It does not exist to quietly lower a floor that was set for good reason.