Established by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (ARPANS Act), ARPANSA commenced operation on 5 February 1999. ARPANSA replaced the Nuclear Safety Bureau and Australian Radiation Laboratory.
Our key activities are:
- Initiate, maintain, and promote frameworks for protection and safety
- Undertake research and provide expert evaluations, advice, and services
- Ensure effective and risk‑informed regulation
- Enhance organisational innovation and capability
ARPANSA provides the Australian Government and community with:
- Expertise
We build and maintain expertise in measurement of radiation and assessment of health impacts, including the assessment of risks and responses to radiation emergencies. - Advice
We provide high quality advice to the government and the community on issues related to exposure and effects of radiation, radiation protection and nuclear safety. - Regulation
We use our licensing powers and work with Commonwealth entities to ensure the safety of radiation facilities, using a risk-informed regulatory approach. - Best Practice
We lead the development of codes, standards, guides and advice to support radiation protection and nuclear safety throughout Australia, and play a prominent role in relevant international organisations. - Services
We offer high quality services for the purpose of protection against the harmful effects of radiation. - Research
We undertake research and development, and build strategic partnerships with relevant national and international academic and research organisations.
Statements of expectations and intent
While ARPANSA is operationally independent of government, this does not mean independent of expectations or guidance about how we fulfil our statutory roles. Commonwealth regulators like ARPANSA are accountable to the Parliament, including through Senate Estimates and Australian National Audit Office scrutiny.
The Executive Government will also set out its guidance through Ministerial Statements of Expectations. These Statements are issued by the responsible Minister to a regulator or an entity with regulatory functions, to provide greater clarity about government policies and objectives relevant to the regulator’s statutory objectives and how it conducts its operations. The regulator responds to a Ministerial Statement of Expectations with a Regulator Statement of Intent that, in turn, identifies how it will deliver on the Government’s expectations.
Further details on Statement of Expectations and Statement of Intents can be found in the Department of Finance issued 'Regulator Performance (RMG 128)'.
