The Ministry of Health’s Office of Radiation Safety administers the Radiation Safety Act 2016 and the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016 on behalf of the New Zealand Government. This legislation controls all dealings with ionising radiation. For information about non-ionising radiation and radiofrequency such as 5G, please visit Non-ionising radiation page under Environmental Health.
Key requirements of the Radiation Safety Act 2016
The legislation requires the following:
- Managing entities of radiation sources must hold a Source licence authorising them to manage and control those sources.
- Managing entities must register controlled radiation sources with the Office of Radiation Safety.
- Individual users of radiation sources must hold a Use licence unless their use is otherwise authorised by the Act or regulations.
- Consent is required for anyone who wishes to import or export radioactive material.
News
6 August 2020
Codes of Safe Practice: On 31 July 2020, the last Codes of Practice have been published. The Codes of Practice (ORS CoPs) have been issued under the Radiation Safety Act 2016 superseding the Codes of Safe Practice (CSPs) issued under the Radiation Protection Act 1965 as of the date that each ORS CoP came into force. Details are given on our Codes of Pactice page.
Database review: The Office of Radiation Safety is in the process of reviewing our current data and have identified some non-compliant licensees. We will be in contact with those who are non-compliant with the Radiation Safety Legislation in the next few days. If your licence is not current, please apply; otherwise, we will be in touch soon.
Employment Opportunity: The Office of Radiation Safety is looking for a Principal Advisor for the Office in Wellington. More details can be found on the Ministry’s careers website. We hope you are interested and will apply. Applications are due on 16 August 2020.