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
January 2020
Happy New Year! The team at the Office of Radiation Safety is back at work and we are looking forward to work with you throughout the year. Please continue to send your enquiries, applications etc to orsenquiries@health.govt.nz. This inbox is cleared daily. Sending emails to private addresses may cause delays in replies.
Updates on the publication of Codes of Practice
The Code of Practice for the Security of Radioactive Material ORS C5 has been reviewed and revised wherever possible based on feedback received. Formatting and signing out processes should ensure this Code is published by 01 April 2020, the day the Code comes into force.
We are in the final process of reviewing feedback on the non-medical Codes. Feedback is scheduled to be implemented in the Codes and communicated with the sector next month. After that, formatting and sign out processes will be initiated. We will keep you updated on progress.