The Ministry of Health’s Office of Radiation Safety (ORS) administers the Radiation Safety Act 2016 and the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016 on behalf of the New Zealand Government. This legislation places controls on all people who deal with ionising radiation. For information about non-ionising radiation and radiofrequency such as 5G, please visit the Non-ionising radiation page under Environmental Health.
New fees for Source licences comes into effect from 7 March 2023
- Source licence categories for medical and dental practices
- Source licences for non-medical and veterinary purposes
On Tuesday 7 March 2023, source licence fees will increase by about 13 percent. This is an existing legislative requirement set out in regulation 15(3) of the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016. These fee increases are not a consequence of the ongoing fees review.
News
30 January 2023
Safety and Security of Radiation Sources During States of Local Emergency
The Office of Radiation Safety continues its efforts to ensure the safety and security of radiation sources, to safeguard the health and wellbeing of people and the environment. Given the large geographical areas affected and developing nature of this weather event, facilities using and / or storing radiation sources may have experienced damage due to flooding. When it is safe to access these facilities, the inventory of radiation sources should be confirmed, and the safety and security of radiation sources should be reassessed. If radiation sources require relocation within or to an alternative facility, security arrangements should be at the same level or higher than the current storage area. Alternative storage areas should also be assessed in terms of safety, to avoid potential exposure to people in adjacent areas. For assistance please contact us via email to [email protected]. For any radiation safety emergencies, you can contact the radiation duty officer on 021 393 632.
27 January 2023
The Government is considering changes to the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016, including whether to set significantly higher new fees to be paid under the Regulations. Before making its decisions, the Government will consider the new fees proposed in the Radiation Safety Fees and Regulations Review 2021 and the submissions received during public consultation. The proposed new fees represent, on average, an increase on the current fees of approximately 110 percent. It is expected that the Government will announce its decisions in the first half of 2023 and implement any changes to the Regulations almost immediately. These changes are not related to the existing legislative fee increase for sources licences commencing on 7 March 2023.
If you have any queries about the proposed new fees, or other changes to the Regulations, you can contact us by email RadiationSafetyFees&[email protected].
10 January 2023
New fees for Source licences comes into effect from 7 March 2023
On Tuesday 7 March 2023, source licence fees will increase by about 13 percent. This is an existing legislative requirement set out in regulation 15(3) of the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016. These fee increases are not a consequence of the ongoing fees review.
|
Categories |
Source licence fee until 6 March 2023 (GST inclusive) |
Source licence fee from 7 March 2023 (GST inclusive) |
|---|---|---|
|
$1,505.35 |
$1,730.75 |
|
$825.70 |
$948.75 |
|
$600.30 |
$690.00 |
|
$485.30 |
$557.75 |
|
$415.15 |
$477.25 |
More information is available on the following pages:
- Source licences for non-medical and veterinary purposes
- Source licence categories for medical and dental practices
There will be no change to use licence fees or consent fees.
Renewal applications for source licences expiring on or after 7 March 2023 will be charged at the new fee. Variations to sources licences granted before 7 March 2023 will be calculated based on the fees that applied when the licence was granted up until a renewal application is required.
7 October 2022
A new email address has been established for formal communication with the Director for Radiation Safety in their official capacity [email protected]. Please use this email address to notify the Director of breaches of the public dose limit and reportable incidents, to seek Director approval under a Code of Practice, applying for exemptions under s 86(3) of the Radiation Safety Act 2016, and other formal communication with the Director in respect of their duties and functions under the Act. Please continue to use the [email protected] for all other enquiries.
22 December 2021
A Compliance Guide for Dental Radiology has been published. This advisory Guide gives some practical guidance on some of the more common compliance issues arising for dental facilities operating traditional and CBCT dental X-ray units with meeting the requirements of radiation protection, in particular Code of Practice for Dental Radiology (ORS C4) and the Code of Practice for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (ORS C1). Additionally a compliance guide has been published for testing frequencies for a range of X-ray equipment used for diagnostic X-ray procedures covered by ORS C1 and ORS C4: Diagnostic X-ray Testing Frequency Guidelines.
02 November 2020
Frequently asked question (FAQs)
FAQs have been published in support of ORS’ Codes of Practice.
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.