The Code of Practice for the Security of Radioactive Material: ORS C5

The Code of Practice for Security of Radioactive Material: ORS C5 2021 (ORS C5 2021) is currently in force. The code of practice came into force on 1 May 2021 and was issued under section 86 of the Radiation Safety Act 2016 (the Act).

In 2025, ORS C5 2021 was reviewed under section 90 of the Act. The review findings and proposed next steps can be found at Consultation on the Code of Practice for the Security of Radioactive Material: ORS C5 2021.

Scope of ORS C5 2021

ORS C5 2021 sets out the technical requirements that a person must comply with in order to comply with the fundamental requirements for security set out in sections 11 and 12 of the Act.

ORS C5 2021 applies to ‘radioactive material’ only and therefore, does not apply to irradiating apparatus.

ORS C5 2021 applies to ‘security’ only, and therefore, does not contain requirements for safe radiation practices or for the safety of radioactive material. Because of this, ORS C5 2021 applies in addition to applicable code(s) of practice for radiation safety. See Codes of practice for more information.

ORS C5 2021 applies to any person who deals with radioactive material that is within the scope of the code of practice. The scope of ORS C5 2021 is set out in the code of practice. To ‘deal with’ radioactive material means to: manufacture, possess, control, manage, use, store, export, import, sell, supply, or dispose of the material, or to carry out any other activity or practice involving the material.

ORS C5 2021 also applies to the security of radioactive material during transport. 

For ORS C5 2021, security means providing appropriate measures to prevent:

• unauthorised access to the place where radioactive material is used or stored
• the loss or theft of radioactive material
• sabotage of radioactive material
• unauthorised transfer or removal of radioactive material
• any unauthorised act through the use of radioactive material.

The scope of ORS C5 2021 includes radiation practices carried out by:

• health service providers who use radioactive material for diagnosis or therapy purposes including radiology, nuclear medicine therapy, diagnostic imaging or other medical purposes
• suppliers who store or transport radioactive material
• industrial organisations who use radioactive material for radiography, industrial processing or waste conditioning
• research organisations
• veterinary practices who use radioactive material for diagnosis and therapy.