ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

The following guides have been developed to assist both applicants and licence holders achieve compliance with the ARPANS Act and Regulations.

This Page:

• Applying for a licence
• Radioactive Waste Management Guideline
• Incident and Accident Reporting
• Reporting Compliance
• Managing changes to the source inventory
• How to seek an exemption from a source licence (IR)
• How to seek prior approval to dispose of controlled sources
• Determining whether a UV source is a controlled apparatus under the ARPANS Regulations

Applying for a licence

The following guides have been developed to assist Commonwealth entities or Commonwealth Contractors who wish to apply for a licence.

REGULATORY GUIDE: Applying for a Source Licence (PDF 111kb)

REGULATORY GUIDE: Applying for a facility licence for a Prescribed Radiation Facility (PDF 125kb)

REGULATORY GUIDE: Applying for a facility licence for a Nuclear Installation (PDF 122kb)

Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) Guideline

This Guidance is intended to be used in relation to applications made under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 for a facility licence to prepare a site for, to construct, or to operate radioactive waste management facilities. Go to the RWM Guideline web page.

Incident and Accident Reporting

If an accident happens, the licence holder must take all reasonably practicable steps to control the accident and to minimise the consequences, including injury to any person and impact on the environment. The licence holder must tell the CEO about the accident within 24 hours and provide a written report about the accident within 14 days. Go to the 'Incident and Accident Reporting' web page.

Reporting Compliance

The purpose of this guidance is assist licence holders in identifying the types of information which should be included in quarterly reports to the CEO of ARPANSA as part of ensuring compliance with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (ARPANS) Legislation. Get the 'Guidance for Licence Holder Quarterly Reporting' and 'Quarterly Reporting Proforma'.

Managing changes to the source inventory

It is a condition of licence that licence holders maintain an up-to-date source inventory. The source inventory is maintained in the form of a Source Inventory Workbook (SIW) that forms part of the licence application.

REGULATORY GUIDE: Managing changes to the Source Inventory (PDF 33kb)

How to seek an exemption from a source licence (IR)

Section 31 of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 1999 (the Act) prohibits dealings with controlled material or controlled apparatus unless the dealing is authorised by a source licence, or is prescribed by the regulations as an exempt dealing. Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the regulations describes the dealings that are exempt.

REGULATORY GUIDE: How to seek an exemption from a source licence - Ionising Radiation (PDF 87kb)

How to seek prior approval to dispose of controlled sources

Under subregulation 53(1), a licence holder must have prior approval from the CEO of ARPANSA to dispose of any controlled apparatus or controlled material. Disposal for the purpose of regulation 53(1) is regarded as (i) destruction of controlled apparatus, or (ii) where regulatory control of controlled apparatus or controlled material passes from the Commonwealth to another jurisdiction. For further information on disposal please refer to the regulatory guide.

REGULATORY GUIDE: Disposal of controlled apparatus and controlled material v1 Aug 2007 (PDF 37kb)

How to determine whether a UV source is a controlled apparatus

This document has been developed to assist controlled persons determine whether a UV source falls within the definition of a controlled apparatus under the ARPANS regulations. It is valid for both pulsed and continuous sources of ultraviolet radiation where the exposure duration is not less than 0.1 ms. It does not apply to ultraviolet lasers.

Guidelines for determining whether a UV source is controlled apparatus under the ARPANS Legislation (PDF 199kb)

Top of Page