AMTA – ARPANSA Liaison Forum
Summary of the Meeting
Held on 27 June 2014

The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) met at ARPANSA’s Sydney office on Friday 27 June 2014. A Terms of Reference (ToR) document was signed by the CEOs. The ToR is available on the ARPANSA website http://www.arpansa.gov.au/AboutUs/Committees/amta.cfm

The objectives of the AMTA-ARPANSA Liaison Forum is to provide an open, frank and transparent exchange of information and views on radiation safety and radiation protection issues especially in the area of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR), with due regard to the different roles the organisations play.

ARPANSA UPDATE
On 14 March 2014, ARPANSA published the ARPANSA Radiofrequency Expert Panel on Review of Radiofrequency Health Effects Research – Scientific Literature 2000-2012 (www.arpansa.gov.au/pubs/technicalreports/tr164.pdf) which found that the exposure limits in the RF Exposure Standard remain appropriate. AMTA supported the Expert Panel’s work to produce this solid document. ARPANSA has begun a process to review the Standard taking into account international guidance. 

Other updates include:
•	The ToR for the Electromagnetic Energy Reference Group (EMERG) have been revised and ARPANSA is currently reviewing the membership of the group http://www.arpansa.gov.au/AboutUs/Committees/emerg.cfm
•	ARPANSA will review the Research Agenda section of the WHO Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) on Radiofrequency (RF) fields
•	ARPANSA is planning a project measuring RF fields from Wi-Fi in schools

AMTA UPDATE 
The Radiofrequency National Site Archive (RFNSA) website continues to demonstrate its importance in providing information about the number, location and Electromagnetic Energy (EME) reports of mobile phone base stations in the community. The latest version of the EME Report is now implemented within the industry, taking into account comments from the community via EMERG.

Media trends show that public concern about mobile telecommunications coverage issues has come to the fore; however, community concerns about health and safety issues are taken seriously by industry, which informs the public of safety advice from independent experts.  The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is coordinating a compliance audit program of over 500 base stations. The Mobile Carriers Forum, which is a specialised AMTA committee, continues to meet to discuss mobile network deployment issues.

A mobile phone base station site safety demonstration will be conducted during the Radiation Health Safety and Advisory Council (RHSAC) meeting in August.