RPS 14.3 — Safety Guide for Radiation Protection in Radiotherapy (2008)

1. Source documents

Official PDF retained locally — ARPANSA, 2008 electronic edition with Annex L removed January 2015; retrieved 16 September 2026.
Extracted text
Provenance and SHA-256 metadata

Non-mandatory Australian safety guide supporting radiotherapy protection and implementation of the medical-exposure code.
It is not Queensland legislation. A recommendation gains legal force only through a demonstrated adoption, licence/approval condition or other binding mechanism.
Its former parent code, RPS 14, is withdrawn and superseded by RPS C-1 plus RPS C-5. ARPANSA continues to identify RPS 14.3 as interim best-practice support for RPS C-5 while the guide is revised; later binding instruments prevail.

Treats radiation therapy as a safety-critical multidisciplinary system spanning prescription, equipment, calibration, planning, delivery, QA, incident response and records.
RPS 14.1, 14.2 and 14.3 remain supporting guides for diagnostic/interventional radiology, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy respectively; only 14.3 is directly centred on this practice.
Distinguishes the responsibilities of the Responsible Person, radiation oncologist, radiation therapist, radiation oncology medical physicist, RSO, supplier and service personnel.
Requires justification and optimisation for patient exposure, with accurate prescription, calibration, clinical dosimetry and independent checking.
Emphasises acceptance/commissioning, ongoing QA, formal control after servicing or modification, and learning from actual or potential misadministration.
Its sample tests, frequencies and tolerances are guidance; they must not be silently converted into universal or THHS-specific requirements.

Defines scope and justification, then allocates complementary responsibilities across management, clinicians, therapists, physicists, the RSO, suppliers and service personnel.
Section 3.6 describes the RSO's advisory and oversight role and states that delegation does not remove the Responsible Person's legal responsibility. Annex B lists illustrative RSO duties, including monitoring, training, review and reporting; Queensland law determines the local appointment.

Addresses facility and equipment design and operation, source/equipment calibration, clinical dosimetry and QA as an integrated system.
Section 4.2 invokes multiple safeguards (defence in depth) for critical radiotherapy components.

Recommends processes to identify and manage possible pregnancy and to assess fetal exposure where clinically relevant.

Covers clinical and technical QA, documented responsibilities, checks, review and corrective action.

Addresses prevention, immediate control, assessment, investigation, reporting and learning from actual or potential unintended exposure.

Covers prescription, patient identification, planning, verification, independent checks, data integrity and accurate delivery.

Provides source-control principles for brachytherapy and special arrangements when radioactive material remains in a deceased patient.

Addresses staff protection, facility requirements, competence, source security, storage and transport.
Section 12.1 discusses shielding specifications and survey of a completed room; it provides technical context for, rather than proof of, Queensland premises compliance.

Provide example content for a radiation management plan; RSO functions; equipment and commissioning records; calibration, servicing and QA; error/incident handling; source care; wipe tests; signs; and monitoring instruments.
Annex B includes measurements and investigations following radiation-safety concerns among illustrative RSO duties; local action thresholds still need their own source.
Annex L was removed in January 2015; use current instruments for dose limits.

ROMP: The radiation oncology medical physicist responsible for specialist calibration, dosimetry, commissioning, QA and technical safety functions within competence.
Radiation oncologist: Holds clinical responsibility for justification, prescription and clinical oversight.
Radiation therapist: Performs planning and/or delivery functions within authorisation and competence.
Tolerance or action level: A programme-specific technical control; guide examples require local validation and approval.
Records: Prescription, patient identification, commissioning, calibration, independent checks, QA, service/change release, training, source inventory and incidents.

Closely supports the RSPP's local controls for commissioning, independent output verification, plan/MU checks, OIMS/data integrity, QA, maintenance release, brachytherapy and incident learning.
For room design, use its shielding and site advice as national guidance. Assess the actual premises against the current Queensland statutory premises standard and the site's design and certificate records.
Useful for explaining why multiple barriers and multidisciplinary checks are needed across the treatment pathway.
Local controlled procedures and current professional standards should determine exact test methods, frequencies and tolerances.