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School of Regulation and Global Governance · ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy
Responsible management of Australia's nuclear capabilities is a complex regulatory problem. Australia exports, but does not enrich, uranium; it uses nuclear technology for scientific and medical purposes, but not for power generation; it is globally ranked as a leading exponent of nuclear safeguards but is also a partner in AUKUS -- the 2021 agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States to share defence technologies and know-how. Amongst other things, this commits Australia to developing a nuclear-propelled submarine fleet. To do this, Australia must manage the life-cycle of multiple mobile reactors, their fuel and their environments. AUKUS makes Australia unique, as the first non-nuclear power to adopt nuclear technology for non-peaceful purposes. This course unpacks the multi-layered, multi-actor landscape of Australia's nuclear capabilities at the domestic, multilateral and international level. It examines the legal and regulatory frameworks and institutions for managing civilian and military applications; the risks that attach to civilian and military applications of nuclear materials and how these risks are managed; the regulatory culture of nuclear technologies and the organisations responsible for them; and how current and future domestic frameworks connect to Australia's transnational and global obligations.
In class participation
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3
Electronic submission of two questions for each session, submitted prior to class
Learning outcomes 4
Leading one in-class informal discussion or formal debate, including a 1000-word précis of relevant reading(s)
Learning outcomes 3, 4
Research and writing outline for an essay or scholarly blog post - 1000 words
Learning outcomes 4
Essay or scholarly blog post - 3000 words
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
This course requires 30 contact hours and 130 hours workload in total Other Information Risk-based regulation developed in response to nuclear technology. Technologies with complex multigenerational effects, civilian and military applications, and human and non-human oversight need robust regulation and governance. Regulating Nuclear Capabilities applies interdisciplinary insights to questions of how to manage risk, build 'smart' regulation and earn social trust for a technology that is both contested and consequential for Australia and its region.
No prescribed texts Preliminary Reading Clarke M and Frueling S, Australia's Nuclear Policy: Reconciling Strategic, Economic and Normative Interests (Routledge, 2019) House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy (2019) Not Without Your Approval: a way forward for nuclear technology in Australia (Report of the inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia) OECD and Nuclear Energy Agency (2007) Nuclear Legislation in OECD and NEA Countries: Australia Parliament of Victoria, Legislative Council (2020) Inquiry into Nuclear Prohibition Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission Report (2016)