Coastguard Queenstown officially become operational on 1st September 2008 and is affiliated to the national body. They provide a 24-hour callout service to incidents on Lake Wakatipu. In time it is expected that coverage will include local rivers. All skippers and crew are volunteers and are trained to the same rigourous standards that their colleagues throughout New Zealand are required to meet. Training and development are ongoing.

The team operates a 8.5 m rigid hull Naiad inflatable powered by a 350hp Yanmar diesel driving a Hamilton jet unit capable of 32 knots. In the medium term this vessel will be replace by a faster purpose-built vessel.