Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements[Index] [Search] [Download] [Related Items] [Help]
AUSTRALIAN RADIATION PROTECTION AND NUCLEAR SAFETY (LICENCE CHARGES) REGULATIONS 2000 2000 NO. 307
EXPLANATORY STATEMENTSTATUTORY RULES 2000 No. 307
Issued by the Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Aged Care
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Act 1998
Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Regulations 2000
Section 6 of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Act 1998 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing, among other things, matters required or permitted by the Act and matters necessary or convenient for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Subsection 4(1) of the Act requires a person who is the holder of a facility licence at any time during a financial year to pay a charge for the licence for that year. Pursuant to subsection 4(2), the amount of the charge for each year is such amount as is prescribed by the regulations. A facility licence authorises persons mentioned in the licence to prepare a site for, construct, possess, control, operate, decommission, dispose of and/or abandon a controlled facility.
Subsection 5(1) of the Act requires a person who is the holder of a source licence at any time during a financial year to pay a charge for the licence for that year, Pursuant to subsection 5(2), the amount of the charge for each year is such amount as is prescribed by the regulations. A source licence authorises persons mentioned in the licence to deal with the controlled materials or controlled apparatus, such as a sealed source in a blood irradiator or a radiofrequency plasma tube, specified in the licence.
The purpose of the regulations is to prescribe the amount of the annual charge for facility licences and source licences. The regulations achieve, in part, the policy requirement that licence holders pay for the cost of being regulated.
The regulations prescribe the applicable license charges by reference to the activity undertaken as listed in schedules 1, 2 and 3.
Details of the Regulations are in the attachment.
The Regulations commence on gazettal.
ATTACHMENT
Regulation 1 of the regulations specifies the title of the regulations as the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Regulations 2000.
Regulation 2 of the regulations provides that the regulations commence on gazettal.
Regulation 3 of the regulations defines the terms "Act" as referring to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (Licence Charges) Act 1998, the 'ARPANS Act' as referring to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the 'ARPANS Regulations' as referring to the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 1999. The regulations also adopt the meaning of any expression used in these regulations if the expression is used in the ARPANS Act or the ARPANS Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears.
Regulation 4 of the regulations prescribes, for the purposes of subsection 4(2) of the Act, the amount of the annual charge for a facility licence that authorises persons to do some or all of the types of conduct set out in paragraphs 30(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of the ARPANS Act in relation to a controlled facility being a nuclear installation. Schedule 1 to the regulations sets out the amount of the charge for each type of conduct in relation to each type of nuclear installation. For example, the annual charge for a licence that authorises the preparation of a site for a controlled facility, being a nuclear reactor that is designed: (a) for research or production of nuclear materials for industrial or medical use (including critical and subcritical assemblies); and (b) to have maximum thermal power of less than 1 megawatt is $17,5000.
Regulation 5 of the regulations prescribes, for the purposes of subsection 4(2) of the Act, the amount of the charge for a facility licence that authorises persons to do some or all of the types of conduct set out in paragraphs 30(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) of the ARPANS Act in relation to a controlled facility being a prescribed radiation facility of a kind mentioned below:
1. particle accelerator with a beam energy of more than 1 MeV;
2. particle accelerator capable of producing neutrons;
3. irradiator containing more than 1015 Bq of a controlled material;
4. irradiator containing more than 1013 Bq of a controlled material but not including shielding as an integral part of its construction;
5. irradiator containing more than 1013 Bq of a controlled material and including shielding as an integral part of its construction, but the shielding does not prevent a person from being exposed to the source;
6. irradiator containing more than 1013Bq of a controlled material and including shielding as an integral part of its construction, and with a source that is not inside the shielding during the operation of the irradiator;
7. facility for the production, processing, use, storage, management or disposal of sealed sources of controlled materials of activity in a quantity more than 10 times that mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations;
8. facility for the production, processing, use, storage, management or disposal of unsealed sources of controlled materials of activity in a quantity more than 106 times that mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations;
9. facility for the production, processing, use, storage, management or disposal of a mixture of controlled materials, the activity of which, worked out using the method set out in subregulation 6(2) of the ARPANS Regulations, is more than the applicable level mentioned in that subregulation.
Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the regulations sets out the amount of the charge for each type of conduct in
relation to each type of prescribed radiation facility.
Subregulation 5(3) of the regulations, provides that, if a facility licence authorises persons to do 2 or more of the types of conduct mentioned in the preceding paragraphs, in relation to a controlled facility being a prescribed radiation facility, the amount of the annual charge for the licence is the sum of the amounts of charged for each type of conduct authorised by the licence.
Paragraph 5(2)(b) of the regulations specifies the annual charge for a facility licence that authorises the conduct mentioned below:
1. decommissioning a controlled facility, being a prescribed radiation facility that was formerly used as a nuclear or atomic weapon test site;
2. disposing of or abandoning a controlled facility, being a prescribed radiation facility that was formerly used as a nuclear or atomic weapon test site;
3. decommissioning a controlled facility, being a prescribed radiation facility that was formerly used for the mining, processing, use storage, management or disposal of radioactive ores;
4. disposing of or abandoning a controlled facility, being a prescribed radiation facility that was formerly used for the mining, processing, use, storage, management or disposal of radioactive ores.
Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the regulations sets out the amount of the annual charge for each of the above types of conduct.
Subregulation 6(1) of the regulations prescribes, for the purposes of subsection 5(2) of the Act, the amount of the annual charge for a source licence that authorises persons to deal with the controlled apparatus of a controlled material of a kind mentioned below:
Group 1:
1. sealed source for calibration purposes of activity of 40MBq or less;
2. sealed source in a fully enclosed analytical device;
3. sealed source with activity of 400MBq or less in a fixed gauge;
4. sealed source in a blood irradiator,
5. sealed source in a bond densitometer;
6. sealed source that: (a) is in storage and awaiting disposal; and (b) has a nuclide with a maximum activity of not more than 109 times the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide;
7. unsealed source, or sources, in a laboratory or premises, having nuclides of 1 kind only with a maximum actively not more than 100 times the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide;
8. unsealed source, or sources, in a laboratory or premises, having nuclides such that when the maximum activity of each nuclide in the source, or sources, is divided by the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide, the total of the result for all nuclides in the source, or sources, is not more than 1000;
9. mammographic x-ray unit;
10. conventional dental x-ray unit;
11. x-ray unit used for bone densitometry
12. x-ray unit used for veterinary radiography
13. fully enclosed x-ray analysis unit;
14. baggage inspection x-ray unit;
15. mobile or portable medical x-ray unit;
16. magnetic field no-destructive testing device;
17. induction heater or induction furnace;
18. industrial radiofrequency heater or welder;
19. radiofrequency plasma tube;
20. microwave or radiofrequency diathermy equipment;
21. industrial microwave or radiofrequency processing system;
22. optical source, other than a laser produce, emitting ultraviolet radiation, infrared or visible light;
23. laster product with accessible emission level more than the accessible emission limit of a Class 3B (Restricted) laser produce, set out in Australia/New Zealand Standards AS/NZ 2211.1:1-997;
24. optical fibre communication system exceeding Hazard Level 3A, as set out in Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 2211.2:1997;
Group 2:
1. sealed sources for calibration purposes of activity of more than 40 MBq;
2. sealed source in a partially enclosed analytical device;
3. sealed source of activity of more than 400 MBq in a fixed gauge;
4. sealed source in a mobile gauge;
5. sealed source for medical or veterinary diagnostic nuclear medicine use;
6. unsealed source, or sources, in a laboratory or premises, having nuclides of 1 kind only with a maximum activity of more than 100, but not more than 10,000, times the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide;
7. unsealed source, or sources, in a laboratory or premises, having nuclides such that when the maximum activity of each nuclide in the source, or sources, is divided by the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide, the total of the results of all nuclides in the source, or sources, is more than 100 but not more than 10, 000;
8. unsealed sources used for tracer studies;
9. industrial radiography x-ray unit;
10. fixed medical x-ray unit, including a unit used for fluoroscopy, tomography and chiropractic radiography;
11. partially enclosed x-ray analysis unit;
12. medical therapy sim8ulator;
13. CT scanner.
Group 3
1. sealed source for industrial radiography;
2. sealed source for medial and veterinary radiotherapy;
3. scaled source in a bore hold logger;
4. sealed source of controlled material not mentioned in another item of this Schedule;
5. unsealed source, or sources, in a laboratory or premises, having nuclides such that when the maximum activity of each nuclide in the source, or sources is divided by the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide;
6. unsealed source, or sources, in a laboratory or premises, having nuclides such that when the maximum activity of each nuclide in the source, or sources, is divided by the amount mentioned in column 4 of Part 2 of Schedule 2 to the ARPANS Regulations for that kind of nuclide, the total of the results for all nuclides in the source, or sources, is more than 10,000 but not more than 1,000,000;
7. veterinary or medical radiotherapy unit;
8. controlled apparatus that produces ionizing radiation not mentioned in another item of this Schedule.
Subregulation 6(2) of the regulations sets out the manner in which the annual charge for source licence holders other than the Department of Defence (DoD), the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) will be calculated. The annual charge is to be calculated in the following manner: the amount of the charge based on the number of licences held by a controlled person to deal with controlled apparatus or controlled materials in the same Group at the same, location for the financial year divided by the number of licences authorising persons to deal with controlled apparatus or controlled materials in the same Group at the same location. The amount of the annual charge for each type of controlled material and controlled apparatus is set out in Part 2 of Schedule 2.
Subregulation 6(3) of the regulations provides that the annual charge for all source licences held by DoD, ANSTO and CSIRO is the amount specified in Part 3 of Schedule 3. The amount of the charge for the year for all source licences held for a financial year by DoD is a set figure of $578,000, ANSTO, $192,800 and CSIRO $192,800. These figures having been calculated having regard to the fluctuating and extensive holdings of these three organisations and to better facilitate their budgeting process.
Schedule 1 to the regulations sets out the amount of the charge for each type of conduct in relation to each type of nuclear installation.
Schedule 2 to the regulations sets out the amount of the charge for each type of conduct in relation to each type of prescribed radiation facility.
Schedule 3 to the regulations sets out the amount of the charge for each type of controlled apparatus and controlled material.