RPS C-1 Rev. 1 — Code for Radiation Protection in Planned Exposure Situations (2020)

1. Source documents

National code issued by ARPANSA for planned exposure situations.
Capable of being adopted by a jurisdiction or applied through a licence condition, but is not automatically Queensland law.
ARPANSA notes that jurisdictional adoption may lag the 2020 revision; the applicable Queensland mechanism must be verified rather than assumed.

Establishes national requirements for occupational, public and environmental protection in planned exposure situations.
Uses justification, optimisation and dose limitation within a graded approach proportionate to risk.
Places primary obligations on the Responsible Person while requiring suitable leadership, management, competence, protection arrangements and records.
Occupational and public dose limits are not limits for a patient’s intended medical exposure; medical exposure is addressed by RPS C-5.
The 2020 revision aligns the Australian system more closely with IAEA GSR Part 3, but local legal force remains adoption-dependent.

Defines purpose, scope, application and the code's place within the Australian Radiation Protection Series.

Applies justification, optimisation and limitation to planned exposure situations.
Integrates safety and security, uses a graded approach and identifies the Responsible Person as central to implementation.

Addresses responsibility, management systems, safety assessment, prevention and mitigation, competence, source control and regulatory interfaces.
Clause 3.1.4 requires a documented, resourced and reviewed Radiation Management Plan; accident reporting follows Code and applicable jurisdictional criteria.

Requires engineered and administrative controls, area classification, local rules, monitoring, dose assessment, worker information and records.
Section 3.2 requires induction, refresher training, suitable qualifications and training records for occupationally exposed workers.

Requires control of discharges and public exposure, monitoring and assessment, and protection of the environment appropriate to the risk.

Responsible Person: Person or organisation with overall responsibility for protection and safety; delegation of tasks does not remove primary responsibility.
Dose constraint: A prospective tool for optimisation, not a dose limit.
Investigation level: A level that prompts review; it is distinct from a statutory limit and may be locally set below one.
Occupational and public limits: Source-scoped national code limits are in Schedules A and B; for binding THHS values, use Schedule 5 of the current Queensland Regulation.
Records: Include authorisations, safety assessments, training, monitoring, dose assessment, source control, QA and incidents as applicable.

Provides the main national basis for staff/public exposure control, area classification, personal monitoring, training, safety assessment and ALARA arrangements.
For premises design, its planned-exposure framework supports engineered controls, facility layout, area classification and safety assessment. The Queensland premises standard supplies the directly applicable statutory room tests.
Complements RPS C-5: C-1 addresses planned occupational/public/environmental exposure; C-5 addresses medical exposure.
Treat its provisions as a national code unless a specific Queensland adoption or licence-condition pathway is identified.