© 2026 Zoe. All rights reserved.
Zoe is a legal information platform. Always consult the official source for authoritative text.
Commonwealth act
This Act is Australia's domestic legal framework for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and ensuring that nuclear materials and related technology are used only for peaceful purposes. It implements Australia's obligations under several major international agreements, including:
Most Australians will never interact with this law directly. It primarily affects:
Want the full deep dive?
Zoe can write the in-depth analysis on top of the summary above: how it works, who it affects and what each part actually does.
Direct links to the current provisions in Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987.
Zoe has indexed the source text for search and analysis. Use the official register for the original document and download formats.
View on official registerSourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
You cannot legally possess nuclear material or related equipment without a permit from the Minister. Permits come with strict conditions about:
Building or demolishing a nuclear-related facility requires a separate permit. The safety and security systems must satisfy the Director of Safeguards before the Minister can issue one.
Moving nuclear material from one place to another requires a specific transport permit with conditions about the route, method, and security measures.
Sharing sensitive nuclear technology information (such as enrichment or weapons design knowledge) with another person requires a formal government authorisation. Handing over a document containing such information is treated the same as directly telling someone that information.
Permit holders must allow IAEA inspectors (international nuclear watchdog officials) to inspect their facilities and records. This is a core obligation under Australia's international treaties.
The Act creates serious criminal offences (detailed in Part III, not fully reproduced here) for: