ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

The chief function of the Radiation Health Committee detailed in Section 23 of the ARPANS Act, is to formulate national policies, codes and standards in consultation with the public for consideration by the Commonwealth, States and Territories. To fulfil this function, the Committee has undertaken a publication program to produce a revised set of standards, codes of practice, recommendations and safety guides known as the ARPANSA Radiation Protection Series.

Part of the development of the Radiation Protection Series entails the review of the Radiation Health Series publications which was previously the responsibility of the National Health and Medical Research Council, the review of Nuclear Codes which were developed under an Act that has since been repealed, and development of new publications.

The development of publications is mostly through the use of working groups that report to the Radiation Health Committee. Working groups primarily consist of people nominated from relevant professional bodies, industry and interest groups. An example of the diversity of participants used to develop publications is the membership of the working group and consultative group developing the Standard for limiting exposure to extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields (0Hz – 3kHz) which is listed on the Radiation Health Committee Publications page.

The progress of working groups is monitored by the Radiation Health Committee. ARPANSA is also required to undertake an assessment of the impact of mandatory forms of the publications, such as the standards and codes of practice, on various parties including users of regulated sources, regulators and the environment. This assessment is presented in the form of a regulatory impact statement (RIS) which must comply with the requirements of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and to the satisfaction of the Commonwealth Office of Best Practice Regulation Review. The requirements of COAG are detailed in the 2004 publication Principles and Guidelines for National Standard Setting and Regulatory Action by Ministerial Councils and Standard-Setting Bodies.

Once the Radiation Health Committee agrees that the draft publication is suitable for release for public comment, it and the draft regulatory impact statement are made available at Drafts for Public Comment and to a wide range of people and organisations nominated by the Committee. Drafts of interest to the general public are also advertised in national newspapers.

Once the public comment period has closed, working groups consider the issues raised and make any necessary changes to the draft publication and regulatory impact statement. The revised draft publication is again considered by the Committee to advise the CEO of ARPANSA on its technical completeness. The CEO also seeks the advice of the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council on adoption of the document.

Once the publication has been adopted the Commonwealth, States and Territories can use the publications as part of their regulatory system.

Copies of finalised Radiation Protection Series publications can be downloaded or ordered in hardcopy.

 

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