Output 1.8 – Advice to Government

Provision of high-quality, timely, relevant and professional advice to Government.

Performance Measures

• Provide policy advice, analysis and briefings that meet the needs of Ministers and other key stakeholders.
• Contribute to the development of Australia's policies by DFAT in the area of WMD arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation.
• Cooperate on technical issues of common interest with departments and agencies such as ANSTO, ARPANSA, Department of Defence, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science and the Australian Intelligence Community.

Performance Assessment

ASNO's role in providing independent expert advice

ASNO continues to provide independent expert advice on various non-proliferation policy and regulatory issues. In this regard, ASNO's remit is supported by section 43(d) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (Safeguards) Act 1987, which states that one of the functions of the Director General is ‘to undertake, co-ordinate and facilitate research and development in relation to nuclear safeguards'.

ASNO continued its work on providing advice to the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science's National Radioactive Waste Management Facility detailed business case; licensing process; design of a waste information management system; and, safeguards by design support to the work of ANSTO on the detailed engineering design for the facility.³⁶

ASNO also works closely with ARPANSA on best practices for the security of nuclear material, including:

• Spent fuel management
• Periodic Safety and Security Review
• an Emergency Exercise, ‘Hail Caesium', run by ARPANSA and the Department of Health and involving multiple government agencies, designed to test arrangements in response to various radiological accident scenarios,
• the Conference on Protective Security in Government, and
• the IAEA's Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission to support ARPANSA's ongoing implementation of international best practice for nuclear and radiation safety and security

ASNO contributed technical advice on the implementation of IAEA safeguards in Iran for the Review of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) led by the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

ASNO has also provided advice to the Government in relation to the DPRK's discussions with the United States on denuclearisation, including on how Australia might support international efforts to verify any new commitments. ASNO coordinates technical activities in Australia monitoring nuclear testing by the DPRK, or others.

36 ASNO is working with ANSTO to ensure the engineering designs for the facility can meet requirements to facilitate ongoing IAEA verification while seeking to minimise costs associated with verification.