Corporate Plan 2016‒20

CEO foreword

I am pleased to present the 2016–20 Corporate Plan of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, (ARPANSA). I will, together with ARPANSA’s dedicated and highly capable staff, endeavour to deliver according to the targets outlined in this plan, with the aim of protecting the Australian community and environment from harmful effects of radiation.

Radiation has always been a natural part of our environment. Every day we are exposed to radiation from natural sources as wide-ranging as outer space (cosmic radiation), the sun (ultraviolet radiation), bedrock (including radon gas entering homes and workplaces), and naturally occurring radioactive substances in food and drink.

Overall our exposures to natural sources are low, however, over a century of use of radiation for different purposes has changed the exposure environment. The use of radiation in medical practices is the largest source of population exposure, and very powerful sources of radiation are used for cancer treatment. Radiation sources are used in a variety of industries, such as materials testing and density measurement. It is used in research and for production of medicines and for communication (radiofrequency radiation). There are also workplaces with elevated levels of radiation of either natural or artificial origin.

ARPANSA achieves its protection mission through regulation of Commonwealth entities using radiation. We collaborate with the states and territories to develop policies and standards for national implementation. We provide advice to a range of stakeholders and provide information that enable individuals to take their own decisions in relation to radiation risks. We are involved in radiation research and provide services such as calibrations, audits and monitoring, for the purpose of protecting the community and environment.

We are looking forward to continuing our delivery of services to the Australian community over the next four years, and to deal with the challenges we may face in doing so.

Introduction

Statement of preparation

I, as the accountable authority of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), present the 2016–17 Corporate Plan, as required under paragraph 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013. This Corporate Plan covers the reporting periods of 2016‑17 to 2019‑20.

Carl-Magnus Larsson
CEO of ARPANSA

Purpose

Vision

Our mission is to protect the Australian people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation. Our vision is that radiation safety¹:

• is appropriately considered in societal decision making
• is addressed uniformly and effectively across Australia
• as applied in Australia, is current international best practice.

Purpose

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is the Australian Government's primary authority on radiation protection and nuclear safety. Our purpose is to protect the Australian people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation, through research, policy, advice, codes, standards, services and regulation.

Strategic objectives

The ARPANSA program of work entails four key strategic objectives that guide our priorities and contribute to delivering radiation protection and nuclear safety outcomes to the Australian community:

1. Protect the public, workers and the environment from radiation exposure.
2. Promote radiological and nuclear safety and security, and emergency preparedness.
3. Promote the effective use of ionising radiation in medicine.
4. Ensure the effective and proportionate regulation and enforcement activities.

These objectives are supported by whole of entity enabling support capabilities, including:

• our people
• governance
• infrastructure and technology
• stakeholder engagement

Plan on a page

ARPANSA's Plan on a page summarises our:

• vision
• purpose
• strategic objectives
• outcomes in society
• key activities
• capability
• strategic risks

Environment

Under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (the Act), ARPANSA regulates Commonwealth entities using radiation with the objective of protecting people and the environment from the harmful effect of radiation. Under the Act, ARPANSA also carries out a number of additional functions such as advice, research and services, with the aim of promoting radiation safety across all Australian jurisdictions.

ARPANSA is a non-corporate Commonwealth entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act), within the Health portfolio, and operates under the Public Service Act 1999.

Our operating environment is currently influenced by discussions about management of radioactive waste. The Australian Government has initiated a process to establish a national disposal facility for low level radioactive waste and a storage facility for intermediate level waste, in both cases intended for management of waste of domestic origin. A discussion has started regarding the South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission's recommendations, including a potential facility for managing high-level waste generated outside Australia.

ARPANSA works closely with medical, educational, environmental and scientific institutions and industries. The use of radiation in medicine is the largest source of radiation exposure to the Australian population, and the range of techniques involving radiation in medicine is increasing.

The use of radiofrequency radiation in communication is increasing and ARPANSA engages with stakeholders, including community groups, to inform about any associated risks. ARPANSA also works with a number of stakeholders to promote 'sun smart' behaviours, thus contributing to prevention of skin cancer.

As an advocate and leader in international best practice, ARPANSA will receive an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Integrated Regulatory Review Service (IRRS) Mission in 2018. This review will focus upon Australia's legal and regulatory framework against the IAEA safety standards. The mission will also report upon ARPANSA's licensing, inspection and enforcement processes, as well as other national arrangements for radiation protection.

Through our engagement with the IAEA, the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), we integrate scientific knowledge and international best practice into our advice and services, and into our promotion of national uniformity of policies and practices across Australia.

We continue to develop our people, governance, infrastructure and technology to ensure our processes and systems provide the appropriate capability to support the achievement of our strategic objectives in this operating environment.

Performance

Planning

Our Corporate Plan is a central part of our business planning and performance framework and will support planning activities across the agency. This plan is directly aligned to the relevant outcome and program set out in the Department of Health 2016‑17 Portfolio Budget Statement, specifically:

• Program 5.1: Protect the health and safety of the community through regulation.

The plan is aligned with the four key strategic objectives that ARPANSA will use to protect the Australian people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation.

The 2016‑17 agency business plans and individual performance agreements are aligned with this plan.

Performance

The plan details our performance measures, the outcomes for the Australian community and the environment, and how progress in promoting the protection of people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation will be monitored.

In addition to ARPANSA's strategic objectives, the Commonwealth's Regulator Performance Framework (the framework) requires regulatory agencies to develop output or activity-based evidence measures for each of six Key Performance Indicators (KPI). The framework encourages regulators to undertake their functions with the minimum impact necessary to achieve regulatory objectives and to effect positive ongoing and lasting cultural change within regulators. These indicators have been incorporated into our performance monitoring and reporting.

Our performance measures are presented under each of the four strategic objectives. Our results for the year against the performance criteria detailed in this Corporate Plan will be reported in our annual performance statement within the 2016‑17 annual report.

Overview of ARPANSA's Planning and Performance Framework

View Planning and Performance Framework text description

1. Protecting the public, workers and the environment from radiation exposure

ARPANSA will gather scientific knowledge to inform its regulatory activities and provide evidence based expert advice to the Australian Government and community.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on the assessments of sources of, and exposures to:

• ionising radiation (naturally occurring as well as man-made)
• non-ionising radiation (naturally occurring e.g. ultraviolet radiation (UVR) as well as man-made e.g. electromagnetic radiation (EMR))
• associated health and environmental risks.

In 2016‑17 ARPANSA will expand the Australian National Radiation Dose Register to include worker dose records from:

• Commonwealth licence holders
• the mineral sands mining and milling sector.

Outcomes

Outcomes in society will include:

• improved community understanding of the sources of radiation exposure and the associated health risks, enabling informed decision making
• reduced risks of harmful effects of ionising radiation without impacting on beneficial usage
• reduced UVR exposures, and control of lasers, resulting in lower rates of skin cancer and preventing eye damage
• appropriate measures to address risks from EMR
• an understanding of pathways and levels of radiation exposure in workplaces, and support the safety of those environments.

We will demonstrate our performance through the following:

1. Protecting the public, workers and the environment from radiation exposure
No.	Measure	Target	PBS2 page	2016- 17	2017- 18	2018- 19	2019- 20
1.1	Develop high quality advice for the Australian Government and other stakeholders on radiation protection issues.	Relevant, evidence-based advice developed and provided in a timely manner.	245	*	*	*	*
1.2	Monitor radiation doses to occupationally exposed workers including uranium mining workers.	Annual reporting of trend in radiation doses received by workers determined from quantitative dose measurement provides evidence of optimisation of radiation protection.	245	*	*	*	*
1.3	Number of organisations submitting worker exposure records to the Australian National Radiation Dose Register.	Eight, increasing by two each year.	245	*	*	*	*

* indicates reporting periods where criteria will be measured

2. Promoting radiological and nuclear safety and security, and emergency preparedness

ARPANSA will support a national approach to the secure and safe management of radiation sources, radiation facilities and nuclear installations, and to effective emergency response.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on:

• managing the National Radiation Security Advisor Accreditation Scheme
• overseeing nuclear and radiological imports and exports across our borders
• executing ARPANSA's safety and security monitoring and compliance regime for regulated entities
• developing specialised radiation detection and characterisation capabilities
• promoting a national network of radio-analytical laboratories
• providing modelling products to support decision making during nuclear and radiological emergencies
• revising national guidance on protective measures during nuclear and radiological emergencies
• engaging in nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness and response exercises, both nationally and internationally.

Outcomes

Outcomes in society will include:

• controlled facilities, apparatus, material and other radioactive sources are maintained under safe and secure conditions
• up-to-date records of trans-boundary movement of radioactive sources
• a national system for response to the release and recovery of radioactive substances into the environment
• a radiation protection framework to ensure appropriate protection of public, workers and environment in the event of a radiological or nuclear emergency.

We will demonstrate our performance through the following:

2. Promoting radiological and nuclear safety and security, and emergency preparedness
No.	Measure	Target	PBS page	2016- 17	2017- 18	2018- 19	2019- 20
2.1	ARPANSA is prepared for a radiological or nuclear incident or emergency.	Emergency preparedness and response systems for field, network and laboratory measurements, and information management and decision support systems are available, calibrated, tested and aligned with national planning.	245	*	*	*	*

* indicates reporting periods where criteria will be measured.

3. Promoting the effective use of ionising radiation in medicine

Medical procedures in diagnosis, intervention and therapy are the largest man-made source of ionising radiation exposure to the Australian population. ARPANSA seeks to ensure that the amount of radiation used for these essential procedures is as low as reasonably achievable, without compromising the clinical outcomes.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on:

• establishing, reviewing and updating diagnostic reference levels for:
  • computed tomography
  • nuclear medicine
  • mammography
  • interventional fluoroscopy
• estimating the total amount of radiation delivered to the Australian population from medical procedures
• developing additional radiotherapy dose audits that address new advances in clinical practice
• engaging with stakeholders to develop and deploy a user pays system for the Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service (ACDS) audit program
• providing traceable calibration services to ensure that radiotherapy centres can accurately measure the doses delivered by therapeutic radiation beams.

Outcomes

Outcomes in society will include:

• radiotherapy services that deliver the correct radiation exposure to the correct location and sparing other tissue
• diagnostic imaging services that deliver clinically adequate images whilst minimising doses
• an effective national dialogue with stakeholders in medical imaging, intervention and therapy to ensure protection of patients
• detailed understanding of the sources and population doses from medical procedures.

We will demonstrate our performance through the following:

3. Promote the safe and effective use of ionising radiation in medicine
No.	Measure	Target	PBS page	2016- 17	2017- 18	2018- 19	2019- 20
3.1	Number of Diagnostic Reference Level surveys per annual survey period.	>1,000	246	*	*	*	*
3.2	Percentage of Australian Radiotherapy Providers participating in the national dosimetric auditing program provided by the Australian Clinical Dosimetry Service.	>80%	246	*	*	*	*
3.3	Percentage of Australian Radiotherapy Providers covered by ARPANSA dose calibration services.	>70%	246	*	*	*	*

* indicates reporting periods where criteria will be measured

4. Ensuring effective and proportionate regulation and enforcement activities

ARPANSA is committed to the effective and efficient regulation of radiation sources, radiation facilities and nuclear installations, as well as the safe transport of radioactive material.

In 2016-17 our activities will focus on:

• enhancing our regulatory framework through continuous improvement of the risk-informed regulatory delivery model
• regulating the use of radiation by Commonwealth entities through licensing, inspection, monitoring and enforcement
• enhancing awareness of radiation risks
• promoting best practice in radiation safety
• providing national leadership and collaborating with state and territory regulators to further develop the national regulatory framework, including the National Directory for Radiation Protection
• building upon international best practice to ensure effective, efficient and internationally harmonised regulation and enforcement activities
• administering, analysing, and reporting on the Australian Radiation Incident Register
• improving the efficiency of regulatory services and eliminating unnecessary requirements.

Outcomes

Outcomes in society will include:

• a holistic approach to safety, and a strong culture of safety and security among licensees
• licensed activities adequately monitored to reduce risk to people and the environment
• appropriate corrective actions to address non-compliance
• transparency in regulatory decision making
• uniformity in radiation safety in Australia
• regulatory systems that provide effective safety and security measures for people and the environment by incorporating international best practice
• reduced regulatory burden.

We will demonstrate our performance through the following:

4. Ensure effective and proportionate regulation and enforcement activities
No.	Measure	Target	RPF3 Measure	RPF KPI	PBS page	2016-17	2017-18	2018-19	2019-20
4.1	Percentage of licence applications assessed within the time agreed with licence holder.	>90%	Yes	1	246	*	*	*	*
4.2	Number of improvements to the regulatory framework implemented by ARPANSA, identified through self-assessment or external reviews such as the Integrated Regulatory Review Service conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency.	>3	Yes	6	246	*	*	*	*
4.3	Percentage of inspections conducted in accordance with established inspection schedule.	>90	Yes	1	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.4	Percentage of stakeholder inspection feedback in which the positive outweighs the negative.	>90	Yes	2	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.5	Number of information sharing meetings with facility licence holders.	>20	Yes	2	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.6	Ratio of performance deficiencies to non-compliances during inspections.	>25	Yes	3	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.7	Ratio of site visits (monitoring) to inspections at licensed facilities.	>4	Yes	3	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.8	Percentage of inspections of licence holders with a medium to high risk ranking.	>70	Yes	4	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.9	Percentage of time that actions are initiated within three months of the issuance of a performance deficiency.	>50	Yes	4	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.10	Percentage of regulatory personnel time that is devoted to regulatory activities.	>40	Yes	5	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.11	Percentage of instances in which licence holders are consulted on the development of Guides, Codes and Standards.	>90	Yes	5	N/A	*	*	*	*
4.12	Percentage of facility inspections in which expertise external to ARPANSA was utilised.	>30	Yes	6	N/A	*	*	*	*

* indicates reporting periods where criteria will be measured.

Capability

Delivery against ARPANSA's strategic objectives is supported by effective engagement with our stakeholders and the community, and implementation of our enabling services and support. Over the next four years we will continue to build and maintain our internal capacity and capability to support our operational functions by focusing on four key areas; our people, our governance, our infrastructure and technology, and engaging with our stakeholders.

People

ARPANSA is committed to connecting people through its organisational strategy and aligning people practices with business objectives.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on:

• retaining, recruiting and developing the right people to ensure our workforce evolves to meet our external challenges and contribute to the continued success of ARPANSA
• designing a contemporary individual performance management system that will contribute to enhance future performance and ongoing learning opportunities.

Governance

ARPANSA has commenced work to enhance its governance arrangements and systems in place to achieve a more integrated approach to our planning, performance monitoring and reporting processes.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on:

• integrating and enhancing our quality and safety management systems, including applying the management system requirements of ISO 9001 (quality) to our everyday processes
• developing and embedding good project management practices across ARPANSA
• developing and implementing a performance measurement framework to improve the quality of our performance information.

Infrastructure and technology

ARPANSA will ensure we adopt appropriate technologies in a coordinated way to improve the services we deliver to our staff and stakeholders.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on:

• developing a cloud computing roadmap for our technology environment by identifying business goals and mapping potential benefits while mitigating potential drawbacks
• implementing the Digital Continuity 2020 strategy to enhance business behaviours in digital information and records management and produce targeted Digital business outcomes
• adopting Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and customer experience as business strategies that optimise operational efficiency, customer satisfaction and loyalty by implementing customer-centric processes.

Stakeholder engagement

ARPANSA will position stakeholder engagement as a priority across the agency through the stakeholder engagement framework.

In 2016‑17 our activities will focus on:

• implementing the ARPANSA brand strategy to ensure a consistent, uniform approach to all our communication activity
• developing the Government relations strategy to build and maintain collaborative relationships and enhance our profile across government
• enhancing the International relation strategy to increase international visibility and reputation with key international stakeholders
• strengthening communications and trust with Commonwealth licence holders.

We will demonstrate our performance through the following:

5. Capability
No.	Focus Area	Project	Description	Estimated completion
5.1	People	Workforce Planning Strategy	Develop a workforce planning strategy which includes; recruitment, succession planning, performance feedback, leadership development, and training requirements to ensure our workforce has the capability to meet the future challenges of our operating environment.	June 2017
5.2	Governance	Project Management Framework	Deliver an enhanced project management framework that will contribute to a more effective and efficient allocation of resources through improved governance and management of agency projects.	June 2017
5.3	Infrastructure and Technology	Digital Strategy	In response to key digital and social trends, create a digital strategy to harness opportunities, build business capability and transition information management and technology to support the agency's vision.	May 2017
5.4	Stakeholder Engagement	Stakeholder Engagement Framework	This project represents ARPANSA's ongoing commitment to work effectively with its stakeholders, learn from past experiences and continue to improve performance. The framework will be based upon the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) spectrum and will seek to position stakeholder engagement as a priority across the agency and facilitate effective collaboration and knowledge sharing.	March 2017

Risk oversight and management

ARPANSA's Risk Management Framework is based on the Australian Government's Risk Management Policy and is prepared in accordance with AS/NZS ISO: 31000:2009 Risk Management - Principles and Guidelines. We are committed to working towards a more mature risk management culture, where risk management is integrated into all activities across all levels of the agency.

The framework aims to assist in assessing the level and nature of risks and comprises:

• risk appetite statements
• risk management methodology and processes
• risk treatment plans.

The framework deals with two main risk types and the processes necessary to deal with them:

Health and environment radiation risks include; risks to worker, the public, patients undergoing medical procedures, and the environment, which ARPANSA is responsible for managing under the ARPANS Act.

Agency risks include; safety, (workplace health and safety and radiation safety), security, reputation, financial, disruption to operations and services, and risks to achieving planned outcomes.

Examples of ARPANSA's key risk management strategies include:

• periodic review of key risks and controls
• integration of risk management in business plans
• promoting risk awareness and sound risk management practices through the agency
• maintenance and improvement of risk management policy and framework
• integrate specialist risk management plans including workplace health and safety and protective security.

ARPANSA Strategic Risk Register

Download a register of six key strategic risks facing the Agency in 2016-17. Numbers 1 to 4 relate to the four strategic objectives and 5 and 6 relate to enabling activities of finance and workplace health and safety.

ARPANSA Corporate Plan on a Page

 

Footnotes:

1. 'Radiation safety' as used here means all actions and measures that contribute to protection from radiation risks to the health of people, or to the environment. This includes nuclear safety and security, waste safety and transport safety.
2. Portfolio Budget Statements
3. RPF - Regulator Performance Framework