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Who is affected

• Employers and registrants of premises that handle radioactive substances or operate irradiating apparatus (reg 19, regs 28, 30).
• Licensees and applicants for licences to use radioactive substances or irradiating apparatus (regs 10, 59; Sch. II).
• Radiation workers and designated radiation workers (obligations on personal monitoring, training and medicals; regs 11, 25, 21).
• Suppliers and manufacturers of irradiating apparatus and certain electronic products (supply information obligations, technical compliance, regs 35, 39–40, 53).
• Owners/operators of premises providing services that use radiation (medical, dental, veterinary, industrial radiography) — the regs prescribe who may operate equipment and under what supervision (reg 38 and Schedules IX–XI).
• General public in locations near premises handling radioactive substances or using irradiating apparatus (dose limits and public exposure controls in Schedule I and regs 24, 30, 31).

Why it matters (practical effect, incentives and who pays)

• Safety and monitoring become a recurring cost for businesses and employers: registration and licence fees, investment in shielding and safety devices, monitoring instruments and personal dosimetry, record keeping and approved‑organisation services (regs 16, 25, 58; Sch. 15). Those costs are borne by registrants/licensees and by employers who must appoint radiation safety officers and keep personal files (reg 11, reg 18).

• The Council has wide regulatory discretion to impose technical conditions, require use of approved consultants or monitoring organisations, and direct corrective actions. That discretion concentrates decision‑making with the Council and shapes the market for approved services (reg 18(3), reg 25A, reg 28(1)(e)).

• Compliance requirements nudge behaviour in specific ways: limit quantities and storage methods (Sch. V, reg 30), require personal monitoring and training (regs 25, 19), and require engineering controls (Sch. IX–XI). These rules reduce the ability of operators to substitute cheaper but less‑controlled practices.

• The regs recognize low‑risk commercial and consumer items by specifying exempt quantities and device categories (Sch. V–VI, regs 7, 7A–7D). That creates a compliance boundary: small quantities and certain devices are treated as out of scope for many obligations, while larger quantities or changed device designs bring full regulatory requirements.

Costs, trade‑offs and implementation risks to note

• Administrative and technical compliance burden is significant for many regulated entities: detailed record keeping (regs 12–13), monitoring and calibration (regs 16, 23), and standards compliance (reg 53, Sch. IX–XIV) require specialist staff or consultants and capital expenditure.

• The regulations rely heavily on external technical publications and periodically updated standards (NHMRC, ARPANSA, Standards Australia). This makes ongoing compliance partly a question of keeping up with evolving technical norms and securing approvals from the Council (multiple regs and Schedules citing external standards).

• The Council’s power to approve persons, issue directions and set conditions creates a single point where administrative delay or inconsistent exercise of discretion may affect operations (reg 18, reg 28, reg 36). It also creates a defined market for approved monitoring organisations and qualified experts (reg 25A, reg 23(5)).

• The prescriptive technical requirements (e.g., detailed x‑ray equipment tolerances, laser control measures, dose‑tables) reduce ambiguity but also raise the bar for small operators to comply without professional help (Sch. IX–XVI; Sch. I; reg 54–56).

Concrete legal hooks (examples and where to look)

• Dose limits and public/occupational exposure rules: Schedule I and reg 24.
• Exempt quantities and device exemptions (smoke detectors, watches, self‑luminous signs): Schedule V–VI and regs 7, 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D.
• Records, personal files and reporting obligations on employers and registrants: regs 11–14, 32.
• Technical standards and device requirements (x‑ray apparatus, lasers, microwave ovens): Sch. IX–XVI, regs 39–40, 52–56, reg 53.
• Council powers, approvals and enforcement: regs 18, 23, 25A, 28, 31, 36, 57.

(References are to the regulation or Schedule number in the Radiation Safety (General) Regulations 1983.)

Responsibility for radiation safety precautions generally 33

19A. Abnormal or unplanned radiation exposures 38

20. Manufacture, use etc. to be confined to certain premises 40

21. Medical examinations 41

22. Warning signs and labels 42

23. Radiation surveys and calibrations 43

24. Dose equivalent limits and maximum permissible exposure levels not to be exceeded 44

25. Personal monitoring devices 45

25A. Radiation monitoring organizations 48

26. Monitoring of radiation otherwise than by personal monitoring devices 49

Part III — Radioactive substances

27. Restrictions on activities of licensees and others in respect of radioactive substances 50

28. Conditions on registration of premises 51

28A. Exemption from registration of premises for temporary storage while in transit 53

29. Labelling of radioactive substances 54

30. Storage of radioactive substances 55

31. Release or disposal of radioactive substances 57

31A. Near‑surface disposal of radioactive waste 59

32. Records, reports and notifications relating to radioactive substances 60

33. Control of exposure to radiation 61

Part IV — Irradiating apparatus

34. Exemption from licensing in relation to irradiating apparatus 64

35. Information to be furnished by suppliers of certain irradiating apparatus 64

36. Conditions on registration of irradiating apparatus 65

37. Conditions on registration of premises 66

38. Restrictions on use of irradiating apparatus 66

Part V — Electronic products

Division 1 — Microwave ovens

39. New microwave ovens to comply with microwave oven standard 74

40. Commercial microwave ovens to be tested 74

Division 2 — Lasers

52. Terms used 74

53. Lasers to be in compliance with laser safety standard 75

53A. Regulations 54, 55 and 56 are in addition to regulation 53 75

53B. Laser pointers 76

54. Regulated class 3B lasers 77

55. Class 4 lasers 78

56. Requirements for enclosed lasers 78

Part VI — General

57. Penalties 80

58. Fees 80

59. Forms 83

Schedule I

Dose limits and maximum permissible exposure levels

Schedule II

Application for licence in respect of radioactive substances

Schedule III — Exemption Label

Schedule IV

Radiation warning symbol

Schedule V

Exempt quantities of radioactive substances

Schedule VI

Exempt quantities of radioactive substances in certain timekeeping and other devices

Schedule VII — Exempted electronic products

Schedule VIIA

Exempted self luminous devices

Schedule VIII

Maximum concentrations of radioactive elements in air and water above natural background

Schedule IX

Conditions imposable on registration of irradiating apparatus

Schedule X

Requirements to be complied with in respect of premises in which irradiating apparatus is operated or used

Schedule XI

Requirements to be complied with in respect of operation or use of irradiating apparatus

Schedule XIII

Requirements to be complied with in respect of premises in which regulated class 3B lasers are operated or used

Schedule XIV

Requirements to be complied with in respect of premises in which class 4 lasers are operated or used

Schedule 15 — Fees

Division 1 — Registration and licences

Division 2 — Temporary permits

Division 3 — Records

Schedule XVI

Notes

Compilation table 196

Other notes 200

Defined terms

Radiation Safety Act 1975

Radiation Safety (General) Regulations 1983

Part I — Preliminary

1. Citation

These regulations may be cited as the Radiation Safety (General) Regulations 1983.

2. Commencement

These regulations shall come into operation on the expiry of the period of 6 months commencing on the day on which these regulations are published in the Gazette.

3. Terms used

(1) In these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears —

absorbed dose means quotient of dĒ by dm, where dĒ is the mean energy imparted by ionising radiation to matter of mass dm;

approved means approved in writing by the Council;

becquerel means SI unit of activity corresponding to one nuclear transition per second;

chest screening means plain radiography of the chest authorised under a written law for occupational or public health reasons;

chiropractor means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the chiropractic profession;

class 1 laser means a class 1 laser product as defined by section 3.17 of the laser safety standard;

class 2 laser means a class 2 laser product as defined by section 3.19 of the laser safety standard;

class 3B laser means a class 3B laser product as defined by section 3.21 of the laser safety standard;

class 3R laser means a class 3R laser product as defined by section 3.21 of the laser safety standard;

class 4 laser means a class 4 laser product as defined by section 3.22 of the laser safety standard;

condition includes restriction and limitation;

cooling curve means graphical relationship between energy stored as heat and cooling time;

dentist means a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the dental profession whose name is entered on the Dentists Division of the Register of Dental Practitioners kept under that Law;

designated radiation worker means radiation worker designated by a registrant, a radiation safety officer or the Council as having an occupational radiation exposure with the potential to exceed the effective or equivalent dose limits;

disposal permit means disposal permit granted under section 34;

effective dose means sum of the weighted equivalent doses in all organs and tissues of the body calculated using the formula —

where —

E is the effective dose;

WT is the tissue weighting factor for the organ or tissue T;

HT is the equivalent dose in the organ or tissue T;

effective dose limit means dose limit specified in item 1(1), (3) or (4) of Schedule I;

equivalent dose means the sum of the weighted absorbed doses in an organ or tissue calculated using the formula —

where —

HT is the equivalent dose in the organ or tissue T;

WR is the radiation weighting factor for the radiation R;

DT.R is the absorbed dose from the radiation R averaged over the organ or tissue T;

equivalent dose limit means dose limit specified in item 1(2)(a) of Schedule I;

exemption means exemption referred to in section 6 and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

field site means any place —

(a) which is not a premises; and

(b) which is used by the registrant of a premises in connection with the premises; and

(c) at which radiation workers operate or use irradiating apparatus or radioactive substances that have been taken temporarily to that site;

filtration means modification of the characteristics of ionising radiation in passing through matter;

fluoroscopy means the use of a continuous or pulsed x‑ray beam to produce a dynamic real time image, the duration of which is not predetermined before the exposure is initiated;

form means form specified in Schedule II;

general supervision means the exercise of control over radiation safety without the person exercising such control necessarily being present at the registered premises or field site;

gray means SI unit of absorbed dose in matter corresponding to the absorption of one joule per kilogram of matter;

half value layer means thickness of a specified material that attenuates a beam of radiation so that the absorbed dose rate in air or exposure rate at a given point is reduced by half;

image receptor means x‑ray film, fluorescent screen, image intensifier input phosphor or electronic device in or from which an image is created following exposure to x‑rays;

industrial radiographer means a licensee who holds a licence which specifies that the purpose of the licence is industrial radiography;

ionisation means process by which one or more electrons are liberated from a parent atom or molecule or other bound state;

ionising radiation means radiation capable of causing ionisation by primary and secondary processes;

item means item of the Schedule in which the term appears;

keep includes cause to be kept;

laser means electronic product which can be made to produce or amplify electromagnetic radiation primarily by the process of controlled stimulated emission;

laser safety standard means the publication entitled “Safety of laser products”, being AS/NZS 2211.1:2004, published by Standards Australia in March 2004;

leakage radiation means ionising radiation emerging after transmission through the protective shielding of the source of the ionising radiation;

licence means licence granted under the Act;

licence card means a card issued in the form set out in Form RS16 of Schedule II;

licensed, in relation to a person, means that the person is the holder of a relevant licence under the Act;

licensee means holder of a licence;

low powered irradiating apparatus means irradiating apparatus registered for the purpose of medical radiography (other than mammography or dental radiography) that has a maximum rating of 100 kV(peak) at 100 mA or 100 kV(peak) and 1 microfarad;

lux means SI unit of illuminance corresponding to one lumen per square metre;

mammography screening means mammography conducted without a referral from a medical practitioner;

maximum permissible exposure level means maximum permissible exposure level specified in item 2 of Schedule I;

medical practitioner means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the medical profession;

microwave oven means electronic product which is a microwave cooking appliance designed to heat food by the use of microwave energy in the frequency range between 300 MHz and 30 000 MHz;

microwave oven standard means the publication entitled “Approval and Test Specification ‑ Particular Requirements for Microwave Ovens”, being AS 3301 ‑ 1992, published by the Standards Association of Australia 2;

NHMRC means the National Health and Medical Research Council established under the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (Commonwealth) section 5B;

non‑ionising radiation means radiation other than ionising radiation;

nuclide means species of atom having specified numbers of neutrons and protons in its nucleus;

permit means disposal permit or temporary permit;

personal file means personal file kept under regulation 11;

personal monitoring device means device designed to detect and measure the radiation dose received by a person;

personal supervision means the exercise of control over radiation safety by the person exercising such control being present on the registered premises or field site;

physiotherapist means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the physiotherapy profession;

plain radiography means an x‑ray examination during the course of which —

(a) the x‑ray tube and film remain stationary; and

(b) no contrast medium is introduced into the patient;

podiatrist means a person who is registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Western Australia) in the podiatry profession;

premises means premises referred to in section 28(1)(a);

publication means standard, rule, code or specification referred to in section 58(2)(e);

qualified expert means expert whose qualifications are approved;

quality factor, in relation to radiation, means factor which is a function of the linear collision stopping power in water of the radiation at the point of interest;

radiation means energy propagated through space or through a material medium in the form of waves or of kinetic energy of particles;

radiation oncologist means a medical practitioner with qualifications in radiation oncology that are recognized by the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists;

radiation safety committee means radiation safety committee appointed under regulation 18;

radiation safety officer means radiation safety officer appointed under regulation 18;

radiation therapist means a person with qualifications in the application of radiation for therapeutic purposes who is eligible for ordinary membership of the Australian Institute of Radiography;

radiation warning symbol means radiation warning symbol described and depicted in Schedule IV;

radiation weighting factor means factor set out in Table 1 of the publication entitled “Recommendations for limiting exposure to ionizing radiation (1995)”, approved by the NHMRC in June 1995, which modifies the absorbed dose in an organ or tissue to yield the equivalent dose in that organ or tissue;

radiation worker means person who in the course of his employment may be exposed to radiation arising from his direct involvement with sources of radiation;

radioactive material means material which spontaneously emits ionising radiation;

radiographer means a person with qualifications in diagnostic radiography who is eligible for ordinary membership of the Australian Institute of Radiography;

radiologist means a medical practitioner with qualifications in diagnostic radiology that are recognized by the Royal Australasian College of Radiologists;

registered means registered under the Act and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;

registrant means person in whose name premises are registered;

sealed source means radioactive material sealed in a container, or having a bonded cover, strong enough to prevent contact with and dispersal of the radioactive material under the conditions of use and wear for which that container or cover was designed;

section means section of the Act;

sievert means SI unit of effective dose or equivalent dose;

sun‑tanning unit means an electronic product that —

(a) is capable of producing ultraviolet radiation between 100 nm and 400 nm wavelength; and

(b) is designed to produce tanning of human skin; and

(c) is provided for tanning the skin of a person —

(i) for a fee or reward; or

(ii) as part of providing a service for a fee or reward;

temporary permit means temporary permit granted under sectio

This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.