Changes to Radiation Safety Regulations 2016

Published on 23 June 2023.

Changes to the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016 are scheduled to come into effect from 28 June 2023, with the regulations available shortly after this date.

Amendments to the Regulations include revised safety fees, since an Office of Radiation Safety 2021 review found that fees paid under the Regulations did not fully recover the costs of administering the Act. There are also changes to compliance monitoring categories and a reduction in the scope of activities that veterinarians can perform without having to obtain a use license.

The NZVA provided feedback on the changes on behalf of members in early 2022.

Summary of changes:

• New Radiation Safety Fees from 28 June 2023
• Changes to compliance monitoring categories from 28 June 2023: In most situations, routine compliance monitoring will be scheduled at a level that is similar to the inspection periods that have been in place since 2016. For veterinary diagnosis using plain radiography (x-ray only), and excluding the use of radioactive material, routine compliance monitoring will be once in every four years.
• Introduction of registration and record-keeping requirements for irradiating apparatus used for x-ray fluorescence and x-ray diffraction (XRFs and XRDs) from 28 June 2023
• Clarification to the conditions that apply to the exemption from licencing for XRFs and XRDs
• Reduction to the scope of the activities that registered veterinarians can perform without having to obtain a use licence: The changes clarify that the authorisation provided by Schedule 3 of the Radiation Safety Regulations 2016 (Schedule 3) is limited to using irradiating apparatus in general radiography for veterinary diagnostic purposes. Registered veterinarians using irradiating apparatus for interventional procedures or treatment, or that utilises computed tomography, will need to obtain a use licence or use the apparatus in one of the other conditional situations that can be authorised under the Radiation Safety Act 2016. Information on applying for a use licence is available on the Ministry of Health’s website.
• Resources

For specific queries, please email RadiationSafetyFees&Regs@health.govt.nz