Apply for a radiation licence

Please read this information before completing an ACT Radiation Licence application form.

If you already hold a radiation licence in another Australian state or territory you may be eligible to notify for Automatic Mutual Recognition (AMR) under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992. 

More information, including a portal for AMR Notification, can be found on the Access Canberra website.

To apply for an ACT Radiation Licence, please follow the application steps below:

1. use the online form or download the Radiation Licence application form
2. complete and sign the application form
3. submit the form with the appropriate documentation and fee to the Health Protection Service

You are issued with a tax invoice and a letter of receipt after you apply.

Your Licence Certificate is mailed to you once your application has been approved. Please note a licence application may be referred to the Radiation Advisory Committee during the assessment process.

Please ensure you renew your licence before the expiry date.

Fees paid by employers

Your employer may elect to pay the fee if you require a licence for your work. This is a private arrangement and it remains your responsibility as the applicant to ensure all fees are paid.

For your application to be assessed, you must provide copies of documentation to show that you meet licence prerequisites, such as:

• degrees or certificates of training
• relevant professional memberships accreditations or registrations
• a radiation licence held in another state or territory
• evidence of radiation related training courses
• any other documents relevant to your application

Medical diagnostic and therapeutic use of radiation - licence holders need to register with the appropriate health professional board such as the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Veterinary practitioners and veterinary surgeons - licence holders need to register with the ACT Veterinary Practitioners Board. If the ACT Veterinary Practitioners Board is recognising the applicant’s current registration in another Australian state or territory under the National Recognition of Veterinary Registration (NRVR), then the licence application must include a letter from the ACT Veterinary Practitioners Board confirming this.

Please note that all applications must be accompanied by photographic identification.

The Mutual Recognition Act 1992 allows a person who is registered in an occupation in one state or territory to work in an equivalent occupation in another. You may be eligible for mutual recognition if you hold a current radiation licence in another state or territory.

Please submit the following information to the Health Protection Service to apply for a licence through Mutual Recognition:

• the notice seeking mutual recognition – including the statutory declaration
• the online form or the standard Radiation Licence application form
• all accompanying documents – including copies of your current radiation licence

We can assess your application within 4 weeks. You remain registered until the application is considered. Standard licensing fees apply.

Students don’t need to hold a use licence to operate regulated radiation sources in clinical environments under the condition they have immediate supervision at all times. This includes students in nuclear medicine, radiography and radiation therapy.

Exemptions to this condition are only made for students who are undertaking a clinical placement in their final year of a 4-year medical radiation degree. These students may operate under general supervision if they are considered competent by their supervisor and a documented assessment of competency has been made.

A valid document of assessment must:

• include a written assessment
• relate to the individual student
• relate to the site where the student is undertaking their placement
• be based upon the student’s experience and performance at that site
• outline the modality and the type of equipment or radiation source the student is competent in using
• be approved by a licensed person at the site who has overall responsibility for supervising the student
• be issued in accordance with the relevant radiation management plan
• be available for inspection at all times

Students should not automatically progress to working under general supervision. There is no obligation for a supervisor to assess a student as competent.

Immediate supervision means supervision by a licensed person who is present at all times and is observing and directing the use of a regulated radiation source.

General supervision means supervision by a licensed person who oversees and ensures all safe radiation work practices for the use of regulated radiation source are followed.