Radiation Control Amendment Act 2010

This Act is the Radiation Control Amendment Act 2010.

This Act commences on the date of assent to this Act except as provided by subsection (2).

Schedule 1 [1]–[6], [8], [9], [12], [13], [17], [19], [20], [24] and [26] commence on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

For the purposes of this Act each of the following persons is a person responsible for regulated material:

the owner of the regulated material,

any person who is storing, selling or giving away the regulated material,

any person who has possession of the regulated material, other than:

a person who is the holder of a radiation user licence in respect of the regulated material and who has possession of the regulated material only for the purposes of using the regulated material, or

a person who has possession of the regulated material only for the purposes of transporting the regulated material.

A person responsible for regulated material must hold a radiation management licence in respect of the regulated material and must comply with any conditions to which the licence is subject.

Maximum penalty: 1,500 penalty units in the case of a corporation or 250 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both, in any other case.

The Minister may, by notice in writing given to a person, exempt the person from the requirement to hold a radiation management licence.

The exemption may be granted unconditionally or subject to conditions and remains in force for the time specified in the notice or until cancelled by the Minister by giving further notice in writing, whichever occurs first.

The Minister may seek, and take into consideration, the advice of the Council before making a decision in respect of the granting of an exemption under this section.

Each person responsible for regulated material must ensure that the regulated material is not sold, leased or given to, or stored, possessed or used by, any other person unless that other person is the holder of an appropriate licence under this Part in respect of the regulated material.

Maximum penalty: 1,500 penalty units in the case of a corporation or 250 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both, in any other case.

A natural person who uses regulated material must hold a radiation user licence and must comply with any conditions to which the licence is subject.

Maximum penalty: 250 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both.

A person must not carry out any of the activities prescribed by the regulations as the activities of a consulting radiation expert unless the person holds accreditation as a consulting radiation expert and carries out those activities in compliance with any conditions to which that accreditation is subject.

A person must not carry out any of the activities prescribed by the regulations as the activities of a radiation security assessor unless the person holds accreditation as a radiation security assessor and carries out those activities in compliance with any conditions to which that accreditation is subject.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.

A person may apply to the Authority for a licence or accreditation or for a renewal or variation of a licence or accreditation held by the person.

The application must be in the approved form and be accompanied by the fee prescribed in respect of the licence or accreditation.

The application must contain any information that the Authority may require.

The Authority may require the applicant to provide any further information that it considers necessary to determine the application.

The Authority may, in granting an application in respect of a licence or accreditation, impose such conditions on the licence or accreditation as the Authority sees fit.

The Authority must (or, in the case of a renewal application, may) refuse to grant an application unless it is satisfied that:

the applicant is a fit and proper person to hold the licence or accreditation, and

the applicant meets any requirements that may be prescribed by the regulations in respect of the licence or accreditation, and

the applicant meets any requirements in respect of the licence or accreditation that may be set out in a document forming part of the National Directory and adopted by the Authority under section 37, and

in the case of a radiation user licence, the applicant is a natural person who has appropriate knowledge of the principles and practices of radiation safety and protection applicable to the activities proposed to be carried on by the applicant pursuant to the licence, and

in the case of an accreditation, the applicant is a natural person who has the qualifications or expertise necessary to properly carry out the activities to be authorised by the accreditation.

The Authority may, at its discretion, refuse an application on any other ground.

The Authority may seek, and take into consideration, the advice of the Council before making a decision in respect of an application under this section.

The Authority may vary a licence or accreditation on its own motion or on the application of the holder of the licence or accreditation.

A variation takes effect when the holder of the licence or accreditation is given notice in writing of the variation, or if a later time is specified in the notice, at that later time.

A licence may be varied so that it relates to regulated material to which it did not relate before the variation.

An accreditation may be varied so as to authorise the carrying on of activities which were not authorised before the variation.

A variation may involve the imposition of a condition on the licence or accreditation or the revocation of any such condition.

A licence or accreditation remains in force (unless it is cancelled or surrendered sooner):

for the term specified by the Authority in the licence or accreditation, or

if an application to renew the licence or accreditation is made in accordance with this Part and received by the Authority before, or within 60 days after, the end of that specified term—until the application is determined.

A licence or accreditation may be surrendered only with the written approval of the Authority.

The application for approval must be in the approved form and must contain any information that the Authority may require.

The Authority may require the applicant to provide any further information that it considers necessary to determine the application.

The Authority may refuse an application for surrender of a licence if it is of the opinion that:

there will be an ongoing impact arising from any regulated material to which the licence relates, and

it is appropriate to manage that impact through conditions of the licence.

A licence or accreditation surrendered under this section ceases to be of any force or effect.

The Authority may, at its discretion, suspend or cancel a licence or accreditation on any ground including if it is satisfied of any one or more of the following:

that the grant of the licence or accreditation was made in error or was obtained improperly,

that the holder of the licence or accreditation is not a fit and proper person to hold the licence or accreditation,

that the holder of the licence or accreditation has contravened a condition of it,

that the holder of the licence or accreditation has been convicted of an offence against relevant legislation,

that the holder has ceased to hold a qualification which was the basis on which the Authority granted the licence or accreditation,

that, in the case of an accreditation, the holder has ceased carrying out the activities to which the accreditation relates.

A decision of the Authority to suspend or cancel a licence or accreditation has no effect:

until the expiration of the period within which a person may appeal against the decision, or

if a person appeals against the decision within that period, unless and until the decision is confirmed by the District Court or the appeal is withdrawn.

A licence or accreditation:

cancelled under this section ceases to be of any force or effect, or

suspended under this section is of no force or effect for the period of the suspension.

If a licence or accreditation has been suspended, it can be renewed but remains subject to suspension until the expiration of the period of suspension.

The holder of a licence or accreditation which is suspended or cancelled must surrender it to the Authority.

Maximum penalty: 10 penalty units.

A licence or accreditation may be suspended or cancelled, or the surrender of a licence or accreditation may be approved, unconditionally or subject to such conditions as the Authority imposes.

Those conditions may include (but are not limited to) any conditions to which the licence or accreditation was subject immediately before it was suspended, cancelled or surrendered.

The Authority may, by giving notice in writing to the former holder of a cancelled or surrendered licence or accreditation or the holder of a suspended licence or accreditation, attach new conditions to, or vary or revoke any existing conditions of, the suspension, cancellation or surrender of the licence or accreditation.

The former holder of a licence that has been cancelled or surrendered, or the holder of a licence that has been suspended, must comply with any conditions to which the cancellation, surrender or suspension is subject.

Maximum penalty: 1,500 penalty units in the case of a corporation or 250 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years, or both, in any other case.

The former holder of an accreditation that has been cancelled or surrendered, or the holder of an accreditation that has been suspended, must comply with any conditions to which the cancellation, surrender or suspension is subject.

Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.

A condition imposed under this Part that specifies a time by which, or period within which, the condition must be complied with continues to have effect until the condition is complied with or revoked even though the time has passed or the period has expired.

The kinds of condition that may be imposed under this Part include the following:

conditions that relate to the control or management of regulated material,

conditions that relate to the places at which regulated material is kept or used,

conditions that relate to the equipment used in conjunction with regulated material,

conditions requiring the carrying out of works or programs (such as the securing, storage or disposal of regulated material or remediation, clean-up or improvement works with respect to regulated material),

conditions requiring financial assurances to secure or guarantee funding for or towards the carrying out of any such works or programs,

conditions that apply requirements set out in a document forming part of the National Directory or a document (as in force for the time being) such as a guideline issued by the Authority, an Australian Standard or a publication of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency,

conditions of a kind prescribed by the regulations.