Non-proliferation

Australia is respected internationally for its strong history in support of non-proliferation and nuclear safeguards.

ANSTO has contributed significantly to Australia's efforts in support of non-proliferation over several decades, and its Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) facility is a member of the IAEA's Network of Analytical Laboratories for nuclear safeguards.

ANSTO is also the lead agency in Australia for technical cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear technology in our region.

Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

The most important international treaty related to non-proliferation is the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Ratified by Australia in 1973, the NPT is reviewed every five years - most recently 2005. In June 2008 the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, announced a proposed commission called the 'International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament', a joint initiative of the Australian and Japanese Governments that brings world experts together to lay the groundwork for the next Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, scheduled to take place from 3-28 May, 2010, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The NPT's main objectives are to stop the further spread of nuclear weapons, to encourage international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to pursue negotiations in good faith towards nuclear disarmament leading to the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.

At present, 189 states are party to the NPT. These include all five declared Nuclear Weapons States (NWS): China, France, the Russian Federation, the UK and the USA, but not India, Pakistan, North Korea or Israel. Parties to the NPT agree to accept technical safeguards measures applied by the IAEA. Safeguards are arrangements to account for and control the use of nuclear material (uranium and plutonium).

This verification is a key element in the international system which ensures that those materials are used only for peaceful purposes, and is how non-nuclear weapon states demonstrate to others that they are abiding by their commitments.

For more information on the NPT, go to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade information page.  

Other safeguards

As well as the NPT, there are other arrangements including treaties, conventions and multilateral and bilateral arrangements covering security and physical protection of nuclear materials, export controls on nuclear materials and nuclear test-bans.

The Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) ensures that Australia's international obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Australia's NPT safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) and Australia's various bilateral safeguards agreements are met.

In carrying out its responsibilities for the application of safeguards in Australia, and for the physical protection and security of nuclear items in Australia, ASNO inspectors regularly audit ANSTO's nuclear materials.

ANSTO's contribution

ANSTO's Accelerator Mass Spectrometry facility is a member of the IAEA's Network of Analytical Laboratories for nuclear safeguards. Isotopic analyses of actinides are performed at the facility in support of nuclear safeguards. For example, ANSTO is sent samples from various countries to test for minute traces of radioactive releases that would indicate the presence of a clandestine nuclear program.

As noted above, one of the fundamental elements of the NPT is the right of states to have access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. ANSTO also plays a lead role in Australia meeting this obligation, primarily through the Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology (RCA).

As a regional agreement under the aegis of the IAEA, the RCA also allows Australia to participate in international collaborative projects and to maintain and extend a national capacity in cutting-edge nuclear technologies.

It facilitates Australian technical and political cooperation with regional countries in nuclear science and technology which, in turn, contributes to maintaining and improving bilateral and multilateral relationships in the Asia-Pacific region.