Meeting Summary—19 June 2015
Miranda, NSW
Opening of Meeting 
All members, other than Mr Peter Wilkinson and Mr Ian Drinnan who tendered their apologies, were present. The Chair (Dr Tamie Weaver) welcomed members to the meeting.  Dr Peter Karamoskos was attending his first meeting and consequently each member introduced themselves. 
Confirmation of the Minutes
The minutes of the last meeting, held on 5-6 March 2015, were agreed subject to some minor clarifications and corrections.
Correspondence
There were no items of correspondence.
Business Arising
The committee discussed the progress in developing Performance Objectives and Criteria (PO&Cs) used on inspections.  A complete set of PO&Cs has been drafted for all facility and source licence inspection topics specified in the Regulatory Delivery Model. These are currently being trialled and will be reviewed and formally issued prior to the next NSC meeting.  Stakeholder feedback on the PO&Cs is positive.

The CEO of ARPANSA informed the meeting that an amendment to the ARPANS Act was introduced to Parliament the previous day.  
Main Items for Discussion
Potential Requirements of a Nuclear Regulator in an Expanded Nuclear Industry
A Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission was established by the South Australian Government on Thursday, 19 March 2015 to undertake an independent and comprehensive investigation into South Australia’s participation in four areas of activity that form part of the nuclear fuel cycle.  The CEO briefed the committee on the objectives of the Royal Commission after which the committee discussed the regulation of an expanded nuclear industry within Australia.  The discussion was restricted to regulatory matters but was otherwise open and broad ranging.  Topics included in the discussion included:

• The functional structure of the regulatory body
• The jurisdictional scope
• The jurisdiction - state/territory and Commonwealth
• Regulatory capacity and capability
The NSC will provide a letter summarising the conclusions of the discussion to the CEO.

Regulatory Guide for the Assessment of Regulation 54
Reg 54 requires the regulatory approval to construct safety items during the construction phase of a nuclear facility.  The NSC provided comments on a draft regulatory guide which had been distributed to stakeholders.  The committee suggested that the format and writing style be reviewed, making the point that whilst this was a technical document, ARPANSA should make it accessible to a wide range of stakeholders.  Members will provide any further comments in writing.
Draft IAEA Safety Standard DS 456 – Leadership and Management for Safety
The meeting was briefed on the progress of an NSC workgroup that is reviewing and commenting on this IAEA standard and particularly how it can be applied as a Code for use across Australia. This task is being undertaken in conjunction with the Radiation Health Committee.  The committee was informed that the IAEA document could be adapted for Australia.  Some IAEA terminology needs to be modified for the Australian context. ARPANSA has existing guidance on Plans and Arrangements and Holistic Safety which need to be incorporated into the Code.  The IAEA standard moves towards an integrated management system which incorporates safety and security aspects into all activities. The Committee considered that integrated management systems represent best practice and should be reflected in any Australian Code so that the safety (and security) dimension of structures, systems and components and their operation is assessed.  
Update on Controlled Facilities
The NSC was briefed on and discussed operational aspects of controlled facilities.  Six inspections had been undertaken at facilities, each in accordance with ARPANSA’s new regulatory delivery model.  These inspections had identified a number of performance deficiencies.  The committee discussed these in general terms and welcomed ARPANSA’s intention to analyse the results from all inspections for common issues and trends. A potential non-compliance relating to a system configuration error in a fire suppression system is being considered by ARPANSA. This was identified by the licence holder and ARPANSA is monitoring measures to prevent any recurrence.
Reports
Report on ARPANSA’s activities
The CEO provided a brief overview of ARPANSA’s activities including changes to the Regulations that come into effect on 1 July and proposed changes to the Act discussed previously.  The CEO also reported that there had been some change in APS recruitment policies which now facilitates future recruitments.
Report on the Radiation Health Committee
The Representative of the RHC informed the Committee of the status of national uniformity documents being drafted or reviewed. Where possible the RHC is moving towards the adoption of IAEA standards as opposed to developing separate Australian Codes. The Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council had not met during this term.
Information on Nuclear Safety Matters
A number of reports on ARPANSA’s international engagement were provided to the Committee for information but were not discussed during the meeting 
Closure of Meeting
The meeting closed at 3:30pm. The NSC will next convene on 30 October 2015.