Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Regulations 2002

The regulations rely on three structural concepts drawn from the adopted international documents and deployed by the instrument itself: the incorporation of external technical standards, a regulated carrier-centric radiation protection programme requirement, and a small set of specified offences tied to compliance with the adopted Code.

• Incorporation by reference. The regulations do not reproduce the technical rules for packaging, labels, placarding, activity limits, transport categories or many other technical matters. Instead they adopt, by reference, the domestic Code (ARPANSA RPS C‑2 (Rev. 1) 2019) and the IAEA SSR‑6 (2018) as set out in that Code Schedule A, “as modified by the Code clauses 2.2 to 2.10” (Reg 2, Reg 4(1)). That means the technical substance to be complied with is primarily contained outside the regulations, in the Code and the International Regulations. The regulations identify a single explicit exclusion, International Regulations Section III paragraph 307, which is not adopted (Reg 4(2)).

• Definitions linked to International Regulations. Key operational terms are not defined in the regulations themselves except by reference: carrier, consignee, consignment, freight container, overpack, package, radiation protection programme, and radioactive material are all defined to have the meaning given in International Regulations Section II (Reg 2). The practical effect is that the scope, duties and thresholds hinge on those external definitions.

• Radiation protection programme, and the “guidelines”. The required radiation protection programme is defined by reference to the International Regulations Section II (Reg 2) and the guidelines are specified as Section III paragraph 302 of the International Regulations (Reg 5(6)). The programme must be prepared and maintained by each carrier in accordance with those guidelines, and the Council must approve programmes that “accord with the guidelines” (Reg 5(1)-(2)). The Council also has the power to require amendments where programmes do not accord (Reg 5(4)).

• Carrier-centric compliance and administrative approval. The regulations place primary procedural duties on carriers (the person who is a carrier as defined in the International Regulations). Carriers become the central regulated actor for the approval, maintenance and amendment of radiation protection programmes (Reg 5).

• Criminal sanctions as compliance enforcement. The instrument creates discrete offences for failing to comply with submission and amendment requirements (Reg 5(3), (5)), for dealing with, storing, packing or stowing radioactive materials otherwise than in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(1)-(2)), and for interfering with consignments, markings or labels, and falsely displaying radioactive labels (Reg 6(3)-(5)). All these carry prescribed monetary penalties rather than custodial sentences; Reg 5 sets a primary $1,000 fine and daily $50 penalty for the programme submission and amendment defaults, and Reg 6 prescribes a $1,000 penalty for each specified offence.

• Limited statutory defences. The regulations provide a single statutory defence to the offences in Reg 6: that the person was acting in the exercise of a power or performance of a duty conferred by or under the Act, or with permission granted under the Act, or with the permission of the relevant carrier or consignor or of the Council (Reg 6(6)). The defence is expressed broadly but is limited to acts authorised under statutory or permitted arrangements.

These core concepts show the instrument’s architecture: leverage external technical standards, centralise administrative oversight with a Council approval process for carrier programmes, and enforce compliance via specific financial penalties and a narrow defence tied to statutory or permitted authority.

The regulations target four categories of actors, defined either directly by the instrument or by reference to the International Regulations Section II as adopted.

• Carriers. The principal regulated subjects are carriers, described as “a person who is a carrier as defined in the International Regulations Section II” (Reg 2). Carriers carry the active duties: they must prepare, maintain and submit a radiation protection programme in accordance with the guidelines, and they must respond to Council requirements to amend programmes (Reg 5(1), (4)-(5)). Carriers who fail to submit a programme within three months of becoming a carrier commit an offence with monetary penalties (Reg 5(3)).

• Consignors and consignees in practical terms. While the regulations impose the express administrative duties on carriers, the definitions also bring consignors and consignees into scope for the offences in Reg 6. For example, Reg 6(3) makes it an offence for a person who is not the consignee to interfere with the contents of a consignment. The regulations therefore affect consignors (who will be stakeholders in packaging and labelling prepared “in accordance with the Code”) and consignees (who have a protected status against interference).

• Persons who pack, store, stow, deal with or otherwise handle radioactive material for transport. Reg 6 creates offences that attach to persons who deal with radioactive materials for transport unless they do so in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(1)), and who store, pack or stow radioactive materials for transport unless those tasks are performed in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(2)). Those provisions extend liability to handlers beyond carriers to any person undertaking those specific tasks.

• Persons involved in marking, labelling and placarding, and own‑use handlers. Reg 6(4) prohibits alteration or interference with markings, labelling or placarding applied in accordance with the Code, and Reg 6(5) prohibits displaying radioactive labels on packages, overpacks or freight containers that do not contain radioactive material. That affects persons who apply labels or who might be tempted to use such labels for other purposes, placing obligations on consignors, carriers and potentially third parties who handle freight containers or packaging.

Secondary impacts arise from the instrument’s reliance on the Code and IAEA Regulations, because the technical thresholds (for example activity concentration thresholds, package categories and label design) are contained in those documents. The definitions in Reg 2 make the scope depend on terms given in International Regulations Section II; the regulations therefore affect any person whose activities meet those externally defined criteria. The geographic scope is Western Australia, and the material scope is limited to items that are “radioactive substances” within the meaning of that term in the Radiation Safety Act 1975 (Reg 3).

Decision-makers and enforcers are the Council as the approval authority for radiation protection programmes, and the Act’s enforcement machinery for prosecuting offences under the Act and these regulations. The regulations name the Council repeatedly as the body that must approve programmes and that may require amendments (Reg 5(1)-(5)). The defence in Reg 6(6) explicitly recognises acts done under the Act, and with the permission of the Council, consignor or carrier, signalling that permitted, authorised or statutory activity will be treated differently from unauthorised interference.

The instrument creates a set of express duties, process rights (approval and requirement powers), and a limited statutory defence.

Key duties

• Prepare and maintain a radiation protection programme. Each carrier must prepare and maintain a radiation protection programme in accordance with the guidelines (Reg 5(1)(a)). The guidelines are specified as Section III paragraph 302 of the International Regulations (Reg 5(6)). The duty is ongoing (prepare and maintain).

• Submit programme and amendments to the Council. A carrier must submit the radiation protection programme and any amendment of it to the Council for approval (Reg 5(1)(b)). Submission is a precondition to lawful carriage activity within the regulatory framework.

• Comply with Council directives to amend programmes. If the Council considers a programme does not accord with the guidelines, it may in writing require the carrier to submit amendments to bring it into accord; the carrier must comply within three months or within any further time allowed (Reg 5(4)-(5)).

• Observe the Code when dealing with radioactive material for transport and when storing, packing or stowing for transport. Reg 6(1) and (2) impose an express requirement that persons deal with radioactive materials for transport and store, pack or stow radioactive materials for transport in accordance with the Code. The text is not carrier-specific; it applies to any person undertaking the specified functions.

• Preserve labelling and avoid false labelling. Reg 6(4) prohibits interference with or alteration of any marking, labelling or placarding applied in accordance with the Code. Reg 6(5) prohibits placing a radioactive label on any package, overpack or freight container that does not contain radioactive material as defined (Reg 6(4)-(5)).

• Do not interfere with consignments. Reg 6(3) makes it an offence for a person who is not the consignee to interfere with the contents of a consignment.

Administrative powers and rights

• Council approval power. The Council must approve a radiation protection programme and any amendments if the programme, as amended where applicable, would accord with the guidelines (Reg 5(2)). That gives carriers a right to seek approval and sets the approval criterion as accord with the guidelines.

• Council notice and amendment requirement power. The Council may issue written requirements to bring programmes into accord with the guidelines (Reg 5(4)). This is an administrative compliance tool that the Council may use to compel corrections and updates.

Penalties and consequences for non-performance

• Failure to submit a radiation protection programme within three months after becoming a carrier is an offence with a $1,000 fine and a daily penalty of $50 (Reg 5(3)).

• Failure to comply with a Council requirement to amend a programme within the required time is an offence with a $1,000 fine and a daily penalty of $50 (Reg 5(5)).

• The specific operational offences set out in Reg 6 each carry a $1,000 penalty (Reg 6(1)-(5)).

Statutory defence

• Reg 6(6) provides a defence to a charge under Reg 6 if the person charged can show that they were acting under a power or performing a duty conferred or imposed by or under the Act, or with permission granted under the Act, or with the permission of the relevant carrier or consignor or of the Council. That defence is narrowly framed: it applies to acts authorised under the Act or permitted by the specified actors.

Rights of appeal or review are not set out in these regulations. The regulations set administrative and criminal pathways but do not, within the text provided, state internal appeal mechanisms against Council decisions, nor do they specify record-keeping obligations beyond the requirement to prepare and maintain programmes. Practical exercise of rights will therefore depend on the Council’s processes and any provisions in the underlying Radiation Safety Act 1975, which are not reproduced in these regulations.

The regulations establish a modest, monetary penalty regime, linked to specified defaults and breaches, and allocate primary administrative enforcement responsibility to the Council for programme approval and correction. The enforcement design is composed of immediate monetary fines, daily penalties for continuing contraventions in certain instances, and a statutory defence available in relation to the operational offences.

Penalty structure

• Programme submission and amendment defaults. Reg 5(3) makes it an offence for a person who does not submit a radiation protection programme to the Council as required before three months elapse after the person becomes a carrier. The penalty is a fine of $1,000, with a daily penalty of $50. Reg 5(5) makes non-compliance with a Council requirement to amend a programme within three months an offence with the same $1,000 fine and $50 daily penalty.

• Operational offences with flat fines. Reg 6(1)-(5) create offences for dealing with, storing, packing or stowing radioactive materials for transport otherwise than in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(1)-(2)); for unauthorised interference with consignments (Reg 6(3)); for interfering with or altering markings, labelling or placarding applied in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(4)); and for displaying radioactive labels on items that do not contain radioactive material (Reg 6(5)). Each carries a penalty of $1,000.

• No custodial penalties stated. The regulations only specify financial penalties; there are no custodial or other non-monetary penalties specified within the text of these regulations.

Enforcement actors and procedural mechanics

• Council as approval and compliance trigger. The Council is the entity to which radiation protection programmes and amendments must be submitted for approval (Reg 5(1)(b)). The Council also has the statutory power to determine that a programme does not accord with the guidelines and to require written amendments to bring it into accord (Reg 5(4)). The Council therefore determines when a carrier has complied or failed to comply in respect of programmes.

• Prosecution under the Act/regulations. The regulations set the offences and penalties; enforcement in practice will follow the prosecution or regulatory processes available under the Radiation Safety Act 1975 and general prosecutorial practice in Western Australia, although those procedural enforcement provisions are not set out in these regulations. The regulations do not specify the enforcement agency beyond the Council’s approval and requirement powers.

• Defences and permitted acts. Reg 6(6) provides a defence to charges under Reg 6 where the defendant can show they were acting under an express statutory power or duty or with permission granted under the Act, or with the permission of the carrier, consignor or Council. The availability of this defence will influence enforcement choices and prosecutions, because authorised or permitted conduct is excluded from the offences in Reg 6.

Practical enforcement implications

• Fixed monetary penalties, rather than graduated scales. The penalty quantum is a fixed $1,000 for each Reg 6 offence, and the same $1,000 plus daily $50 for certain programme-related defaults. That structure suggests the instrument uses monetary deterrence but does not scale penalties by gravity of harm, exposure level, culpability or commercial scale within these regulations.

• Continuation through daily penalties. For programme submission and amendment defaults, daily penalties apply when non-compliance continues after the initial breach. That creates an incentive to cure compliance breaches promptly to avoid accumulating daily liability (Reg 5(3), (5)).

• Enforcement dependent on external technical standards. Enforcement under Reg 6 is expressed as non-compliance with the Code; because the Code and International Regulations contain the technical specifics, enforcement requires an ability to demonstrate divergence from those documents. This places an evidential and expertise burden on regulators and prosecuting authorities, and in turn suggests compliance assessments will require technical reference to the adopted external materials.

The regulations do not specify administrative sanctions such as licence suspension, remediation orders, or notice regimes other than the Council’s power to require amendments to radiation protection programmes. The instrument therefore relies on criminal monetary penalties and Council administrative oversight as its principal enforcement levers.

The regulations operate through incorporation by reference of external Commonwealth and international instruments, and by situating their operations within the Radiation Safety Act 1975. Interactions in the text are explicit in a few respects.

• Reliance on Commonwealth instrument and ARPANSA Code. The defined term Code refers to the Code for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (2019), published by the CEO of ARPANSA under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (Commonwealth) Part 3 (Reg 2). By adopting that Code (Reg 4(1)), these regulations import a Commonwealth-published technical standard into Western Australian regulation. That creates a cross-jurisdictional linkage in which the State regulation defers to a Commonwealth-published instrument for technical detail.

• Adoption of the IAEA Regulations through the Code. The International Regulations (IAEA SSR‑6 (2018) Rev. 1) are adopted as set out in the Code Schedule A, as modified by the Code clauses 2.2 to 2.10 (Reg 2). The State regulations therefore depend on the IAEA text as mediated by the domestic Code. This layered adoption means the operative technical rules are located in international and Commonwealth-published materials rather than in the State instrument.

• Scope limited by the Radiation Safety Act 1975. Reg 3 confines application to the transport of radioactive materials in Western Australia and the storing, packing and stowing of radioactive materials for transport in Western Australia, but only where the materials are “radioactive substances” within the meaning of the term in the Act (Reg 3). Therefore, the State Act’s definition of “radioactive substances” determines whether these regulations apply, creating a legal interface between definitions in the parent Act and duties in the regulations.

• Defence referencing the Act and Council. Reg 6(6) offers a defence for conduct undertaken in the exercise of powers or duties “conferred or imposed on that person by or under the Act, or with the permission, granted under the Act, of the relevant carrier or consignor or of the Council.” The defence thus explicitly ties permitted conduct to authority under the Radiation Safety Act 1975 and permissions granted under that Act, integrating the regulations with the parent statute’s permission and delegation mechanisms.

• Administrative interplay with the Council. The Council is the approval body for radiation protection programmes (Reg 5). The regulations rely on the Council’s statutory existence and powers (created under the Radiation Safety Act 1975, although those Act provisions are not set out here) to administer approvals and to issue written directions to carriers to amend programmes. The Council’s procedural powers and any appeal or review rights would be found in the parent Act rather than these regulations.

• International omission. The regulations explicitly do not adopt International Regulations Section III paragraph 307 (Reg 4(2)). Where that paragraph would have effect under the unmodified IAEA text, the omission changes how the State regime interacts with the international standard; any legal consequence of that omission will depend on the content of paragraph 307 as compared with the rest of the adopted documents.

• No explicit interaction clauses for transport laws, maritime or aviation law. The regulations do not themselves state interactions with transport-specific laws such as maritime, road or aviation safety legislation. However, because the International Regulations and Code contain modal transport provisions, and because the regulations refer to carriers and consignments as defined in those external texts, overlap with transport safety frameworks is implicit. Any concurrent obligations under other transport statutes or national laws will need to be reconciled in practice, but the regulations themselves do not set out those reconciliation mechanisms.

Overall, the regulations are designed to work through, and to rely on, bodies of law and standard-setting that are external to the State instrument: the Radiation Safety Act 1975 for enabling authority and definitions, the Commonwealth ARPANSA Code for technical detail, and the IAEA SSR‑6 for substantive international technical standards, with one narrow international provision excluded by the regulations.

The compilation table and in-text amendment notes record two amending instruments and the deletion of a regulation. The following summarises the amendment record contained in the regulations compilation.

• Original instrument. The Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Regulations 2002 were published on 26 March 2002 and commenced the same day (Compilation table).

• Amendment Regulations 2013. An amending instrument titled Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Amendment Regulations 2013 is recorded as published on 26 April 2013 (Gazette p. 1661-3). The amendment notes in the text indicate that Regulation 2 was amended on that date (Reg 2 amended: Gazette 26 Apr 2013 p. 1661-2). The Gazette note also records that Regulation 4 was amended on that date (Reg 4 amended: Gazette 26 Apr 2013 p. 1662). The in-text footnotes show Regulation 5 was inserted by Gazette 26 Apr 2013 p. 1662-3 (Reg 5 inserted: Gazette 26 Apr 2013 p. 1662-3). The compilation table indicates that r. 1 and 2 of the amending regulations commenced on 26 April 2013, with the remaining regulations commencing on 27 April 2013 (see r. 2(b)).

• Amendment Regulations 2021. The compilation table records a further amending instrument, Radiation Safety (Transport of Radioactive Substances) Amendment Regulations 2021 (SL 2021/160) published on 10 September 2021. The commencement notes state r. 1 and 2 commenced on 10 September 2021, with other regulations commencing on 11 September 2021 (see r. 2(b)). In-text amendment notes indicate Reg 2 and Reg 4 were amended and Reg 5 was affected by SL 2021/160 (Reg 2 amended: SL 2021/160 r. 4; Reg 4 amended: SL 2021/160 r. 5). The text shows that Regulation 7 was deleted by the same instrument (Reg 7 deleted: SL 2021/160 r. 6).

• Specific textual insertions and deletions. The most visible textual change recorded in the consolidated text is the insertion of Regulation 5 (Carrier to have an approved radiation protection programme), which is noted as inserted in 2013 (and as subsequently subject to amendment in 2021). Regulation 6 is noted as amended (Gazette 26 Apr 2013 p. 1663). Regulation 7 had been deleted by the 2021 amendment. The exact content of the deleted regulation is not provided in this consolidated text; only the fact of deletion and the amending instrument citation are recorded.

• Citations and marginal notes. The compilation table provides cross-references to Gazette pages and the statutory law publisher SL references, which serve to trace the particular amending instruments that effected the insertions and deletions.

Users requiring precise historic wording or the prior content of Regulation 7, or the redline changes between versions, must consult the Gazette notices and the amending instruments cited (Gazette 26 Apr 2013 p. 1661-3; SL 2021/160). The consolidated instrument as presented includes the post-amendment text with the 2013 insertions and the 2021 deletions applied, and the compilation table identifies the dates when those changes took legal effect.

The text provided includes no case citations, no judicial interpretations, and no records of prosecutions or appeals. The instrument itself contains only the regulatory provisions, penalties and compilation notes; it does not include any decisions, case law references or summaries of litigation arising under it.

Accordingly, from the source document alone:

• There is no record within these regulations of any court or tribunal decision construing, applying, or challenging these specific regulations.

• There is no internal list of prosecutions, enforcement actions, or outcomes.

• The regulations do not cite or adopt any case law, nor do they reference any precedent or adjudicative history.

Practical implication for legal research. Because the consolidated regulations do not record litigation history, a practitioner seeking to understand how courts have interpreted any term (for example, the scope of “carrier” as defined by International Regulations Section II in this context), the application of the Reg 6(6) defence, or the enforcement approach taken by prosecutors or regulators, will need to consult external sources beyond this instrument. Those sources would include:

• Western Australian court and tribunal databases for published decisions involving the Radiation Safety Act 1975 or these regulations.

• Prosecution records held by the regulator or by the Director of Public Prosecutions, to identify any enforcement outcomes.

• Administrative decisions of the Council or related administrative bodies, if any are recorded and published.

None of those materials are contained in this instrument. The absence of litigation history in the regulations does not mean there has been no enforcement or litigation; it only means there is no such record in the statutory text provided. Users should therefore treat litigation history as an external research task and not as something the regulations themselves document.

Several concrete traps and attention points flow from the text of the regulations. These are practical items that create legal or compliance risk because they depend on external documents, fixed timelines, narrow defences, or limited penalty gradation.

• Reliance on external definitions and standards. The regulations define many core terms (carrier, consignee, consignment, package, overpack, freight container, radiation protection programme, radioactive material) by direct reference to International Regulations Section II (Reg 2). Compliance therefore requires reading and correctly applying those external definitions. A carrier who relies only on the text of the State regulations and not the International Regulations may misunderstand scope or thresholds.

• Technical rules are not in the regulations. The operative technical detail is in the Code and the IAEA Regulations as adopted (Reg 4(1)). Practitioners must consult those external documents to know packaging requirements, label designs and activity thresholds. An apparent “gotcha” is assuming the regulations themselves give the technical content; they do not.

• Narrow regulatory timeline with daily penalties. Carriers must submit a radiation protection programme within three months after becoming a carrier (Reg 5(3)), and must comply with Council amendment requirements within three months (Reg 5(5)), unless further time is allowed. Both failures attract a $1,000 fine and a $50 daily penalty. The three month window is short; commencing carriage activities without submission risks accumulating daily penalties.

• Court defence is limited. The defence in Reg 6(6) applies only if the charged person was acting under a power or duty conferred by or under the Act, or with permission granted under the Act, or with permission of the relevant carrier, consignor or the Council. That defence will not protect unauthorised conduct or improvisations that lack express statutory or permitted authorisation.

• Single flat monetary penalties. Reg 6 prescribes a $1,000 penalty for each listed offence (Reg 6(1)-(5)). There is no expressed scaling by quantum of material, severity of breach, duration, or culpability. In practice, the flat penalty may under- or over-represent the economic scale of harm, but parties must deal with the fixed penalty in the event of prosecution. The regulations do not state aggregation rules for multiple breaches in a single course of conduct.

• One explicit exclusion from adopted international text. International Regulations Section III paragraph 307 is not adopted (Reg 4(2)). If paragraph 307 would have provided an alternative or exception relevant to a carrier’s operations, its omission may change compliance obligations unexpectedly for carriers who assume the unmodified IAEA text applies.

• Liability extends beyond carriers. Although carriers bear the programme approval duties, Reg 6(1)-(2) apply to “a person” who deals with or stores, packs or stows radioactive materials for transport, and Reg 6(3) applies to persons who are not the consignee. That means non-carrier actors, including shippers, warehouse operators, freight handlers and others, can be directly liable under Reg 6 if they do not comply with the Code.

• Requirement to maintain programmes in accordance with “guidelines”. The approval test and the Council’s amendment power are anchored to “the guidelines” set out in International Regulations Section III paragraph 302 (Reg 5(6)). Disagreement about whether a programme “accords with the guidelines” will be a procedural flashpoint because the Council is the approval authority; the instrument does not specify appeal pathways or the criteria for disagreement beyond the reference to the guidelines.

• False labelling prohibition. Reg 6(5) prohibits displaying a radioactive label on a package, overpack or freight container that does not contain radioactive material. Third parties who re-use containers or labels must take care, and consignors and carriers must ensure labelling is applied accurately. This provision could catch marketers or others who repurpose marked containers or use images or labels inappropriately.

• No explicit record-keeping provisions in the regulations. The regulations require a carrier to prepare and maintain a radiation protection programme but do not spell out retention periods, audit rights or production obligations. Carriers should presume that having documentary proof of programme preparation, submission and Council correspondence is essential to relying on defences or showing compliance, but the regulations themselves do not specify those documentary requirements.

Those “gotchas” arise directly from the text: adoption by reference, the three month deadlines, the Council’s approval and amendment powers, the limited statutory defence, the flat penalty regime and the explicit omission of a single international paragraph. Practitioners should plan compliance measures with those constraints in mind.

The regulations prescribe a compact compliance pathway centred on adopting the external technical standards, preparing and maintaining an approved carrier programme, timely submissions, and strict adherence to the Code for all transport‑related activities. The following steps, each rooted in the regulatory text, outline practical actions to satisfy the legal duties.

1. Confirm whether the material is within scope. Reg 3 limits application to transport and to storing, packing and stowing for transport in Western Australia, but only for materials that are “radioactive substances” within the meaning of that term in the Radiation Safety Act 1975. Confirm the material qualifies as a radioactive substance under the parent Act before assuming these regulations apply.

2. Identify whether you are a “carrier”. The obligations in Reg 5 attach to “a person who is a carrier as defined in the International Regulations Section II” (Reg 2, Reg 5). Read the International Regulations Section II definition of carrier and determine whether your organisation’s role meets that definition.

3. Obtain and apply the Code and the adopted International Regulations. The regulations require dealing with, storing, packing and stowing radioactive materials for transport in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(1)-(2)). Acquire the Code for the Safe Transport of Radioactive Material (2019) and the IAEA SSR‑6 (2018) as set out in the Code Schedule A, and apply the specific modifications in the Code (Reg 2, Reg 4(1)). Note that International Regulations Section III paragraph 307 is not adopted (Reg 4(2)), so check whether any practice you rely on depends on that paragraph.

4. Prepare a radiation protection programme in accordance with the guidelines. Reg 5(1)(a) requires carriers to prepare and maintain a radiation protection programme “in accordance with the guidelines”, which are International Regulations Section III paragraph 302 (Reg 5(6)). Draft the programme to align explicitly with paragraph 302’s content and the Code’s guidance.

5. Submit the programme and any amendment to the Council within time. Reg 5(1)(b) requires submission of the programme and amendments to the Council for approval. Reg 5(3) requires submission within three months after the person becomes a carrier. Maintain records of the date you became a carrier, and ensure submission before the three month deadline to avoid the $1,000 fine and $50 daily penalty.

6. Respond promptly to Council amendment requests. If the Council issues a written requirement that a programme be amended to accord with the guidelines (Reg 5(4)), comply within three months or within any further time allowed (Reg 5(5)). Non-compliance attracts the same $1,000 fine and $50 daily penalty.

7. Operate in strict conformity with the Code for all handling and transport activities. Reg 6(1) and (2) require anyone dealing with radioactive materials for transport, and anyone storing, packing or stowing them for transport, to do so in accordance with the Code. Ensure operational procedures, staff training, packaging, testing, documentation and marking conform to the Code’s technical requirements.

8. Protect consignments and labelling. Do not interfere with the contents of a consignment unless you are the consignee (Reg 6(3)). Do not alter markings, labelling or placarding that have been applied in accordance with the Code (Reg 6(4)). Do not display radioactive labels on packages or containers that do not contain radioactive material (Reg 6(5)).

9. Maintain documentary evidence for defences or audits. Reg 6(6) preserves a defence where conduct is authorised under or permitted by the Act, or permitted by the carrier, consignor or Council. Keep documentary proof of statutory powers, permissions, Council approvals, communications and internal authorisations so that you can establish lawful authority in the event of scrutiny or prosecution.

10. Integrate practice with the parent Act and Council processes. Because the regulations sit within the Radiation Safety Act 1975, and the Council has approval and amendment powers, ensure your compliance pathway includes engagement with the Council and alignment with any procedural requirements arising under the Act. Keep track of Council correspondence, approvals, and any conditions the Council attaches to approvals.

11. Address label and marking controls in supply chain agreements. Given the prohibitions on alteration and false labelling (Reg 6(4)-(5)), include express contractual obligations in consignor, carrier and warehouse agreements to prevent unauthorised alteration, re-use or false display of radioactive labels.

12. Train staff on the external standards and the three month deadlines. Because the Code and the International Regulations provide the technical rules and because the regulations impose relatively short deadlines for programme submission and amendments, internal training must cover the external documents, the definition of carrier, the three month timing obligations, and the limits of the statutory defence.

13. Check the 2013 and 2021 amendments for applicable transitional or commencement provisions. The compilation table and amendment notes record the 2013 insertion of Reg 5 and 2021 deletions (including Reg 7). Ensure that any historical compliance records correspond to the post-amendment regulatory position in force today.

Following these steps aligns operational practice with the obligations set out in the regulations, and creates a documentary and procedural trail that supports compliance and the limited statutory defences the regulations provide.