Australia PADI Course Director - Mick Wheatley

Australia's best IDC Mick Wheatley at Brisbane Dive Academy

Take your IDC in Brisbane, great training from experienced staff, fun times and a lifetime of memories.

About Mick

PADI Course Director Michael Wheatley CD-111768 has been diving since 1995, with 1,000’s of logged dives all up and down the east coast of Australia from Carins to Melbourne, PNG to Vanuatu and more still to come.
Mick as he likes to be called is also an EFR Instructor Trainer and holds numerous speciality instructor trainer ratings. Mick is also the only active resident Course Director between Bundaberg and Newcastle. Having taught and team taught hundreds if not thousands of divers at all levels from Scuba diver right through to Instructor level. Mick is the most experienced PADI Instructor in South East Queensland, his reputation has seen him invited to teach IDC’s in other places like PNG, Phillipines and Honduras.
With 15 years teaching experience a wealth of knowledge and a philosophy that his students are a direct reflection on him, Mick ensures that you know what you are doing before heading to the IE. Since graduating as a PADI Course Director, 100% of IDC candidates trained by Mick have achieved a first IE passing rate!
Mick has been recognised by PADI for excellence in teaching and is always willing to go that extra mile for students to ensure that they have a great time and a valuable experience.

Staff of 10 including 1 IDC Staff instructor
31 years old
5+ IDCs per year
15 years diving experience
100% First time IE success rate

What is the philosophy of your company?

The quality of the students, are a direct reflection of the instructional staff.

Your history (your first dive, your first course, how you got into the dive industry)

During high school I was given the opportunity to learn to dive as part of a marine studies program. So I thought to myself, why do real school work when I can learn to dive? I can still remember that first ocean dive, 15m visibility, 12 degrees, sea urchins as far as the eye could sea and some beautiful Blue Groupers swimming around.

As a lot of people do I learnt to dive and didn’t dive again for about a year, and one day I was passing a dive shop and met a Divemaster who soon became my mentor. I was taken for a dive and when I came home I proclaimed that I was going to become a scuba Instructor.
I still had to wait 12months to turn 18 before I could start my Divemaster course so I spent that time working for free in dive centres, diving every weekend, doing any course I could afford to do or had to do and as my 18th birthday present to myself I enrolled in a Divemaster course. It took me a year to finish it but it was worth it. 3 months to the day later I was handed my IE certificate of completion.

My first open water course that I taught was a disaster! I have so many do’s and don’ts to pass on from this course but that is how we learn, we keep the good bits and store the bad as a reminder of what not to do.
12 years later I own my own 5 Star Instructor Development Centre in Brisbane and what a ride it has been.

Has anything funny that happened during your IDCs

The funniest thing I have seen on an IDC was a grown man walking into the classroom wearing a little yellow plastic raincoat, hat and umbrella to illustrate that it is important to have appropriate exposure protection.

What is the reason people should take their IDC with you

Friendly professional attitude and approach to teaching and willingness to assist students in any way possible to make sure that they reach their goals.

What are your personal diving obsessions?

Working with kids who have duchenne muscular dystrophy (dmd), in 2008 I developed a program with a local physiotherapist to take kids who have dmd scuba diving. This program is unique and had never been done anywhere else in the world,

What type of diving do you like the best?

I love deep wrecks, being able to research the history of a ship, what it did, how it sank, what were the people like who were on the ship, being able to look back in time.

Quote from a previous Student

“I recently successfully completed my IDC with Brisbane Dive Academy and then went on to Successfully complete my Instructor Exams with PADI. Without the expert guidance and real life experience provided by Brisbane Dive Academy the course would have been very stressful, instead the staff made it enjoyable and provided me with some real world experiences that have guided me into my Instructing career. I would highly recommend Mick and his team for any courses that he provides, as their professional attitude, friendly approach and willingness to work with you towards your goals set them apart from other providers.”
Brett Muller
OWSI-262376

What else do you like (non diving)

With a young family it is difficult to find time for other things once I get home from diving but when we can we head into the national parks and do a spot of bushwalking, rock climbing or just hanging out at home playing with lego.

Why do you love being a PADI Course Director ?

I get to be a part of a life changing experience, teaching people how to dive is amazing and the PADI instructor creed is so accurate in what you can achieve as an Instructor but as a Course Director you get to experience that and you can make it a reality for others to experience what you do as an Instructor.
Over and above that I get to work with some amazing people and make lifelong friendships.

What does the future hold for you?

The future is bright, I am looking to be teaching IDC’s here in Australia and overseas for various 5 Star IDC’s, I already have IDC’s lined up in PNG.