Strengthening Australia’s expertise in nuclear safeguards practice: RegNet launches new course

RegNet is delivering the first offering of its new postgraduate course, Nuclear Safeguards Practice (REGN8027), co-designed with the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO). The course marks a significant milestone in developing current and next generation leaders in nuclear safeguards and security, across government, industry, civil society and academia.

The course was formally opened by ASNO Director-General Dr Geoffrey Shaw, who spoke with students about ASNO’s role as Australia’s nuclear safeguards and security regulator and its reasonability in ensuring compliance with Australia’s international treaty obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and its Amendment, among others.

Dr Shaw spoke on the importance of strengthening and shaping nuclear safeguards to Australia’s national interest and to stability in an increasingly complex world. He outlined the three pillars guiding ASNO: upholding Australia’s international non-proliferation commitments through robust regulation; supporting regional non-proliferation implementation in Asia and the Pacific; and shaping and strengthening global non-proliferation and disarmament verification mechanisms. Students valued the opportunity to engage directly with Dr Shaw.

The Nuclear Safeguards Practice course builds on Nuclear Safeguards Regulation (REGN8026) and forms part of the Graduate Certificate of Nuclear Security and Safeguards (CNSS) – Australia’s first dedicated tertiary qualification in the field. At ANU, these courses are also available as electives in other programs and disciplines.  Supported and funded by ASNO’s Verify program, these courses were developed through a national partnership led by ANU with Charles Sturt University, in cooperation with ASNO. While the courses are co-designed, they are taught separately.

After hearing from ASNO, students travelled to the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) at Lucas Heights, where operations have been conducted for over 70 years. Home to one of the world’s most modern nuclear research reactors, OPAL, ANSTO is a major Australian public research organisation and a global leader in nuclear science and technology. The site visit brought together more than 25 students from across Australia from the ANU and Charles Sturt University cohorts.

Course convenor, Art Cotterell, said the visit allowed students to connect regulatory theory and treaties with practice: “Having heard directly from ASNO as the regulator, students then toured ANSTO, a regulated facility, to see how safeguards are applied in practice. ANSTO’s reactor produces around 80% of the isotopes used in Australia’s nuclear medicine – and is one of the main suppliers globally – treating people diagnosed with cancer and supporting scans that most members of the public or their loved ones will need in their lifetime. Nuclear safeguards and security may seem far removed from everyday life, but they are the regulatory frameworks that make these peaceful uses of nuclear technologies possible, help sustain ANSTO’s social licence to operate and strengthen Australia’s leadership in this field”.

On the tour, students also observed OPAL in operation, the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, a low-level radioactive waste storage facility, the Mo-99 Manufacturing Facility, and heard about the planned Synroc® waste treatment plant to treat the liquid by-product from nuclear medicine manufacture. Students also got to hear from a range of ANSTO experts on nuclear safety, security and safeguards. After the tour, students had a follow-up Q&A with the ANSTO Safeguards Office.

RegNet extends its appreciation to both ASNO and ANSTO for providing students with the opportunity to hear from leading experts on nuclear safeguards and security.

To learn more about the CNSS program and course offerings, click here.

On-site at ANSTO: Featuring instructors and some of the students from ANU and CSU, enrolled in the Graduate Certificate of Nuclear Security and Safeguards or undertaking Nuclear Safeguards Practice as an elective in other postgraduate programs. Photo credit: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).