Question: How could Australia, with no nuclear power, develop the capabilities to handle nuclear in time?

Answer: Australia has a thriving nuclear industry that delivers nuclear medicine, crucial research, and the capabilities to handle nuclear submarines – electricity generation is not outside of the current capabilities.

It has been said that Australia “lack the capacity” for a nuclear power industry. In reality, Australia already possesses extensive nuclear knowledge, a trained workforce, a robust regulatory framework, and key infrastructure that could support a future nuclear energy program.

Australia has over 60 years of experience operating nuclear research reactors. The High Flux Australian Reactor (HIFAR), Australia’s first reactor, ran from 1958 until 2007. It was replaced by the 20 MW Open Pool Australian Lightwater (OPAL) reactor, a modern multi-purpose facility.^[1]​

OPAL is considered one of the world’s best research reactors, producing vital medical isotopes and conducting materials research​.^[2] Each year, OPAL enables hundreds of thousands of nuclear medicine procedures by generating radioisotopes used in diagnosing and treating cancer and other conditions.

Australia is also deeply involved in the front-end of the nuclear fuel cycle. It holds the world’s largest uranium resources (about one-third of the global total) and is among the top uranium exporters​.^[3] Australia has been safely mining and shipping uranium oxide concentrate for use in overseas reactors for over 40 years under strict safeguards and regulations. This means Australian industry and regulators are already experienced in handling nuclear materials and adhering to international nuclear non-proliferation norms.

Question: Would Australia even be able to develop the legislation for a nuclear power program?

Answer: Australia is already expanding its regulatory framework to encompass a naval nuclear propulsion program, so adding a framework for electricity from nuclear power would in our capabilities.

Australia is broadening its nuclear regulatory framework to accommodate new developments, specifically the naval nuclear propulsion program. In 2021, the government announced the AUKUS partnership to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. Alongside this, Australia is establishing an Australian Nuclear-Powered Submarine Safety Regulator (ANPSSR) as a new statutory authority to oversee the reactor safety and radiological protection aspects of the submarine program​.^[4]

This clearly shows that Australia’s regulatory foundation is not starting from square one – it is evolving in preparation for greater nuclear involvement.

Question: Does Australia have the skilled people to be able to build and operate nuclear power plants?

Answer: Yes, Australia already has thousands of people working in the nuclear field and is preparing to train thousands more students in preparation for AUKUS.

Australia’s history with nuclear energy has created a base of competent professionals to expand upon:

• • ANSTO over 1200 highly-skilled individuals and work collaboratively across areas such as materials, health, climate science, mining and engineering.
  • About 1400 people are employed in uranium mining, at least 500 in uranium exploration, and about 60 jobs are in regulation of uranium mining.
  • ARPANSA employs more than 155 ongoing and non-ongoing staff.

Australia’s universities are preparing to provide a pipeline of talent.

Nuclear engineering and science programs are now expanding. The University of New South Wales offers a master’s program in nuclear engineering, as well as a nuclear engineering minor, and in 2023, Flinders University launched the nation’s first undergraduate nuclear engineering major in anticipation of future demand​.

The federal government is directly investing in growing the nuclear workforce: it has announced 4,000 new university places in STEM fields to “help grow the skilled workforce required to deliver the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pathway”​.

Sixteen universities will receive funding to train students in engineering, physics, chemistry and related disciplines critical for nuclear technology. According to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, this is part of “one of the most significant industrial endeavours in our country’s history”, and it is “critical we make the investments now to ensure we have the skilled workforce” for the coming nuclear projects​.

These initiatives will produce young engineers and technicians familiar with nuclear systems by the time any power reactor projects are underway.

Nuclear power plants would create hundreds of thousands of jobs as well.

Australia’s nuclear workforce is not limited to reactor specialists. We have a broad community of radiation safety professionals (in hospitals, research labs, mining sites), mechanical and electrical engineers, project managers, and tradies who have worked on large energy and infrastructure projects. Many of their skills are transferable to building and running nuclear power plants. Welding a high-pressure vessel in a coal plant or managing a large construction site provides experience relevant to nuclear projects (with additional specialised training).

The nuclear submarine effort alone is expected to create about 20,000 jobs over the next 30 years – including engineers, technicians, operators, regulators and trades – which will greatly expand Australia’s nuclear-capable human capital​. Those people and their skills can flow into civilian nuclear energy if the nation chooses that path.

Every country with nuclear power started with no prior civilian reactors, yet today, 32 nations operate nuclear power stations.

 Australia is actually better placed than many past newcomers were, given our existing nuclear institutions and industrial capacity.

However, even if Australia did not have this background, recent examples show us what can be accomplished. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) had no nuclear power plants or domestic nuclear engineers as recently as the mid-2000s. Once the decision was made to implement nuclear power, the UAE government set up a nuclear regulatory agency and in 2009, it awarded a contract to an international consortium to build four reactors at Barakah​.

The UAE connected its first large reactor to the grid just about 11 years after breaking ground and has since brought three more units online​.

In roughly the span of a decade, the UAE went from zero nuclear infrastructure to a fully functioning multi-reactor power station supplying clean electricity. This shows that a country can import much of the needed technology and expertise through partnerships (in the UAE’s case, with South Korea and others) while rapidly training its own people on the job.

This is also the case for France, who in response to the 1973 oil crisis, installed 56 nuclear reactors over 15 years, through standardised design and harnessing the experience of the workforce. South Korea in the 1970s had minimal domestic capability; it started by importing reactors and know-how from the West, and by the 1990s had developed its own robust nuclear industry. Today, South Korea exports reactors abroad.

Australia, with its scientific and industrial base, could certainly follow a similar trajectory.

^[1] https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/australias-opal-reactor-restarts-after-upgrade

^[2] https://www.ansto.gov.au/learn-from-australias-nuclear-experts

^[3] https://minerals.org.au/about/mining-facts/mineral-uranium/

^[4] https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/iaea-mission-finds-progress-in-nuclear-and-radiation-safety-in-australia-notes-areas-for-improvement