ARPANSA - Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency

This Service Charter outlines what ARPANSA is and what it does, the standards of service you can expect from us and how you can help us improve our service.

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is part of the Commonwealth Health and Ageing portfolio. Its functions and activities are set down by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (ARPANS) Act 1998.

OUR VISION

ARPANSA's vision is to be the leading organisation in Australia for scientific excellence and practical expertise in radiation protection and nuclear safety and to be a highly effective and efficient regulator of Commonwealth Government entities.

OUR MISSION

ARPANSA provides the scientific expertise and infrastructure necessary to support the objective of the ARPANS Act: to protect the health and safety of people, and to protect the environment, from the harmful effects of radiation.

WHAT WE DO

ARPANSA is responsible for:

• Promoting uniformity of radiation protection and nuclear safety policy and practices across jurisdictions of the Commonwealth Government, the States and the Territories;
• Providing advice to Government and information to the community on radiation protection, nuclear safety and related issues;
• Undertaking research and providing services in relation to radiation protection, nuclear safety and medical exposures to radiation;
• Directly and significantly reducing the risk and impact of a radiological attack by improving the physical security of all radioactive sources and by enhancing Australia's capability to undertake comprehensive in-field analysis and provide expert advice in the event of a radiological attack; and
• Regulating all Commonwealth Government entities (including Departments, Agencies and Bodies Corporate) involved in radiation or nuclear activities or dealings.

Our services include:

• Traceable calibrations of ionizing and non ionizing radiation monitoring equipment;
• The Personal Radiation Monitoring Service (PRMS);
• The assessment of Ultraviolet Protection Factors (UPF);
• Advice, measurements, consultancy, and training on a range of radiation protection issues; and
• The issue of Customs (Prohibited Imports) permits for the importation of radioactive materials into Australia.

Further information on our services can be obtained from ARPANSA's Internet site, or from the ARPANSA Public Affairs Officer at the Sydney address given in this Charter.

OUR CUSTOMERS

ARPANSA's customers are in both the public and private sectors (overseas as well as within Australia) and include:

• People who use radiation in medicine, research and industry (including mining);
• Commonwealth, State and local government agencies;
• Environment protection agencies;
• International organisations;
• Academia and research organisations; and
• General public, interest groups and the media.

OUR CORE VALUES

At ARPANSA we value:

• Professionalism; based upon commitment to first class and well managed science, creativity and innovation, ensuring a quality and a safety culture, co operation, good management and perceptive leadership, open and transparent processes, and consistency in our approach to regulation.
• Achievement; through taking personal responsibility, focussing on outcomes as well as proper process, effective leadership, and responsiveness to clients' needs.
• Effective communication; arising from consultation with clients and stakeholders, open and constructive debate, information sharing within the Agency, and public transparency.

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OUR SERVICE DELIVERY STANDARDS

We will:

• Treat all customers with respect and courtesy, and maintain appropriate confidentiality;
• Ensure that our service delivery, information and responses are unbiased, timely, relevant, easily understood, accurate and as complete as possible;
• Provide information to customers about decisions that affect them, and consult customers during the implementation of decisions;
• Ensure that the quality of our services remain world class by incorporating relevant advances in science and technology into our ongoing operations;
• Provide appropriate follow-up information and support;
• Ensure our website is easy to use, well set out and up-to-date;
• Comply with relevant health, safety and environmental regulations and guidelines; and
• Listen and give serious consideration to all suggested ways of improving our services.

If you phone us, we will:

• Answer and respond to messages promptly;
• Identify ourselves and our organisation;
• Provide accurate and relevant information;
• Refer you to an appropriate source if we are unable to assist you in the first instance, or take your contact details to ensure you get a response.

If you fax, email or write to us, we will:

• Reply to routine correspondence within 10 working days of receipt. We aim to respond to more complex inquiries within 20 working days of receipt;
• Include our name and contact details in our correspondence; and
• Provide you with appropriate referral details if the matter is outside our responsibility.

ONGOING EVALUATION OF OUR PERFORMANCE

We will:

• Monitor and evaluate our performance against the standards we have set in this Service Charter to ensure we are meeting those standards;
• Review the Charter internally on a regular basis to ensure continuous improvement in service delivery;
• Have the Charter independently reviewed at least every three years;
• Make improvements on the basis of the monitoring process; and
• Report on our performance, including any adjustments made to the Charter as a result of the review processes, in the ARPANSA Annual Report, which is tabled in Parliament.

COMPLAINTS

If you believe we have failed to meet our service commitment:

• First try to resolve the problem with the staff member you have been dealing with or their supervisor; and
• If the matter remains unresolved, you should address your concerns to the Director of Corporate Services at the Sydney address given in this Charter or email ARPANSA on info@arpansa.gov.au.

We will:

• Ensure that every complaint is investigated thoroughly to aim for a satisfactory resolution when we are at fault and to prevent the problem happening again; and
• Keep you informed about the progress in resolving the matter.

If you are dissatisfied at any time with our handling of your complaint, or you feel that your complaint has still not been dealt with satisfactorily using ARPANSA's internal mechanism, you may refer matters to:

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman

GPO Box 442
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: 02 6276 0111
Freecall: 1800 133 057
Fax: 02 6249 7829
Internet address: http://www.comb.gov.au/

FURTHER INFORMATION

The Charter is supported by additional literature that summarises ARPANSA's undertakings. This literature includes annual reports, the ARPANSA Corporate Plan and our corporate brochures.

HOW TO GET IN CONTACT WITH US

Our Address and Telephone Details:

Sydney Office:

Director, Corporate Services
ARPANSA
PO Box 655
Miranda NSW 1490
Telephone: +61 2 9541 8333
Facsimile: +61 2 9541 8314

Personal Radiation Monitoring Service (PRMS) customer freecall number: 1800 678 112

E-mail Address: info@arpansa.gov.au

 

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