Diving support equipment facilitates a diving operation. It is either not taken into the water during the dive, such as the gas panel and compressor, or is not integral to the actual diving, being there to make the dive easier or safer, such as a surface decompression chamber. Some equipment, like a diving stage, is not easily categorized as diving or support equipment and may be considered either.
Used as a section heading or equipment category in sources such as the NOAA Diving Standards & Safety Manual, the Canadian Standards Association occupational diving standards, and the U.S. Coast Guard Diving Program Manual (COMDTINST 3150.1E). In these contexts, the term serves to distinguish equipment that facilitates the dive, providing a practical classification for operational planning, safety management, and equipment maintenance.