Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Australian National Report, October 2005

The responsibility for the governance of Australia is shared by the Australian government and the governments of the six states and two self governing territories. Responsibility for radiation health and safety in each State and Territory rests with the respective State/Territory government, unless the activity is carried out by an Australian government agency or a contractor to a Australian government agency; in those cases the activity is regulated by the Australian government.
In terms of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management (the Joint Convention) there are therefore nine jurisdictions to be considered. The legislative and regulatory requirements of these jurisdictions with respect to management of spent fuel and radioactive waste are not identical, but are often similar.
Australia has no nuclear power reactors. There is one operational research reactor High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR), one shut-down research reactor (MOATA) and one research reactor Open Pool Australian Light-water (OPAL) being constructed to replace HIFAR. The Australian government is the only jurisdiction with responsibility for the management of spent fuel.
Australia has several operational uranium mines, and several uranium mines that are non- operational but are still under regulatory control because of the presence of potentially hazardous waste materials.
The Commonwealth of Australia, and all of its constituent states and territories, have in place, within the framework of appropriate law, the legislative, regulatory, and administrative measures, including monitoring, inspection and auditing, necessary for implementing all obligations under this Convention.