Accreditation of third-party service providers – radiation competency assessment

Consultation has concluded

Radiation apparatus

The EPA is inviting your feedback on a draft policy for the accreditation of third-party service providers to certify the competency of persons undertaking an activity that requires authorisation under the Radiation Protection and Control Act 1982 (RPC Act)*.

The purpose is to develop an industry based system for providing objective assessment of an individual’s capacity to safely and competently undertake activities involving radiation sources.

Accrediting third-party service providers allows for more effective sharing of expertise between operators to train staff, develop systems and undertake assessments. This supports a greater degree of assurance that controls are implemented and any new situations or exposure pathways are identified.

The RPC Act provides for the accreditation of third-party service providers. This includes accreditation to authorise the issuing of certificates of competency in relation to matters regulated under the Act.

The Minister is the authority to accredit third-party service providers and is required to be satisfied that an applicant for accreditation has appropriate skills, qualifications, knowledge or experience.

To provide assurance that third-party service providers meet the requirements for accreditation, the EPA has developed a draft accreditation policy based on the Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS ISO/IEC 17024:2013 Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.

We would like to hear from interested and affected persons and organisations to inform further development of an accreditation policy that will meet industry needs and regulatory requirements.

* The Radiation Protection and Control Bill 2020, currently debated in the South Australia Parliament, proposes to retain the accreditation provisions in the current RPC Act.

The EPA is inviting your feedback on a draft policy for the accreditation of third-party service providers to certify the competency of persons undertaking an activity that requires authorisation under the Radiation Protection and Control Act 1982 (RPC Act)*.

The purpose is to develop an industry based system for providing objective assessment of an individual’s capacity to safely and competently undertake activities involving radiation sources.

Accrediting third-party service providers allows for more effective sharing of expertise between operators to train staff, develop systems and undertake assessments. This supports a greater degree of assurance that controls are implemented and any new situations or exposure pathways are identified.

The RPC Act provides for the accreditation of third-party service providers. This includes accreditation to authorise the issuing of certificates of competency in relation to matters regulated under the Act.

The Minister is the authority to accredit third-party service providers and is required to be satisfied that an applicant for accreditation has appropriate skills, qualifications, knowledge or experience.

To provide assurance that third-party service providers meet the requirements for accreditation, the EPA has developed a draft accreditation policy based on the Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS ISO/IEC 17024:2013 Conformity assessment – General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.

We would like to hear from interested and affected persons and organisations to inform further development of an accreditation policy that will meet industry needs and regulatory requirements.

* The Radiation Protection and Control Bill 2020, currently debated in the South Australia Parliament, proposes to retain the accreditation provisions in the current RPC Act.

Consultation has concluded

The EPA encourages training providers, radiation practitioners, employers and radiation users to provide feedback on the proposed accreditation policy and process.

Please note that any comments made via this site will be displayed publicly.

If you would like your feedback to remain confidential then please submit your comments or suggestions via email email noting this in the subject line of the email.

  • From a nursing perspective, it would be useful for the independent assessors to work closely with the staff of the departments who are very familiar with the clinical workflows. This will ensure that the workplace has functionality as well as safety.

    Gabby Vigar, Cancer Nurses Society of Australia asked about 3 years ago

    Thank you for providing your feedback to the EPA  We will be sure to take this into consideration in finalising the policy.