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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-03 Daily Xml
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Radiation Protection and Control (Commencement of Proceedings) Amendment Bill

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 21 August 2025.)

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (17:49): I rise to speak in support of the Radiation Protection and Control (Commencement of Proceedings) Amendment Bill 2025. South Australians rightly expect their government to safeguard both the health of our people and the safety of our environment. Radiation, whilst enormously valuable in fields like medicine, industry and research, also carries risks if it is misused or poorly managed. That is why this parliament passed the Radiation Protection and Control Act 2021 to ensure strong oversight of activities involving radiation sources and to make sure the benefits can be realised without compromising community safety.

It is worth remembering that radiation is not only a risk to be managed, it is also an extraordinary tool for good. Every day in this state, radiation technologies help to diagnose disease, deliver targeted cancer treatments and guide life-saving medical decisions. South Australia has a proud record in this field and I want to take a moment to acknowledge the outstanding work of our medical physicists, particularly those at SA Pathology. These highly skilled professionals ensure that radiation is used safely, accurately and effectively in medical imaging and therapy. They are at the frontline of patient care, often behind the scenes, making sure that every scan and every treatment delivers maximum benefit with minimum risk. Their expertise is vital to our health system and it is a reminder of the value of a strong, publicly funded health service.

This is something that Labor will always stand for. We will always back in our health workforce, from doctors and nurses to medical scientists and medical physicists. We will continue to invest in the people and the systems that keep South Australians safe and well. The great work being done at SA Pathology and across our public health network shows the strength of a system that Labor has built, defended and continues to strengthen.

But as legislators, we also have a responsibility to make sure the laws that govern these areas are practical, effective and enforceable, and here we have identified a flaw. Section 82(1)(a) of the act currently requires that proceedings for an inexpiable offence be commenced within six months. That timeframe might be suitable for relatively straightforward matters, but for more complex or serious cases it is simply unworkable.

Some offences under the act are capable of being dealt with either by expiation or prosecution. There is a substantial difference between the penalties that apply in each pathway. That difference reflects the clear intent of this parliament that minor breaches may be expiated but serious breaches should face the highest scrutiny and consequence of prosecution; yet, because these offences are technically expiable, the six-month limitation applies to them.

The reality is that the Environment Protection Authority, the body charged with enforcing the act, often needs more than six months just to properly investigate. Their work may involve site inspections, witness interviews, reviewing technical documentation, commissioning expert analysis and seeking legal advice. In some cases, the alleged offence may not even come to the EPA's attention until well after six months have passed. The risk is obvious—serious offences may escape prosecution altogether, not because they are not worthy of prosecution but simply because the law imposes an arbitrary and unrealistic deadline. This bill fixes that problem.

The amendment before us today will extend the period for commencing proceedings for expiable offences under the Radiation Protection and Control Act 2021 from six months to three years. That will bring the act in line with the Environment Protection Act 1993 and it will ensure that investigations can be carried out thoroughly and prosecutions pursued properly without being undermined by unnecessary time pressures.

This change does not alter the balance of the act, it does not expand the scope of offences, nor does it increase penalties. What it does is give regulators the time they need to uphold the standards this parliament has already set. It strengthens accountability, it supports deterrence, and it ensures that those who breach the rules cannot simply run out the clock. At its heart, this is a bill about protecting people and protecting our environment. It ensures that South Australians can continue to benefit from the safe use of radiation in medicine, research and industry, while knowing that strong and fair enforcement is there as a backstop. It is also a bill that reflects Labor values. It is about putting public health first. It is about supporting our world-class health professionals with a system that backs them in, and it is about making our laws serve the community, not the convenience of those who would break them. I commend this bill to the house.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy) (17:54): I am pleased to close the debate on this small change but nonetheless a very important one, basically fixing a little error that had crept in under the previous version of this bill. We need to make sure that our standards are the highest and, as has been so eloquently described by the member for Gibson, that we are looking after the professionals who operate within the world of the positive use of radiation and ensure that anyone who is doing the wrong thing, either inadvertently or deliberately, is treated with the appropriate seriousness. I therefore commend this bill to the house.

Bill read a second time.

Third Reading

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Workforce and Population Strategy) (17:55): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.


At 17:56 the house adjourned until Thursday 4 September 2025 at 11:00.


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