Implementation of new licensing portal

Implementation of the licensing portal

We implemented our new licensing portal starting with use licences, approved testers, and approved assessors.

The licensing portal is designed to manage licensing and registration functions.

It allows registered users to:

• apply for a licence
• apply to renew, or
• apply to vary an existing licence.

Licence holders can also download a copy of their licence and make changes to their contact details at any time.

We aim to implement the licensing portal for management licences during the first quarter of 2023. The exact date will be confirmed in the coming months.

Help guides for technical issues

For assistance with registering, please email radiation.safety@health.vic.gov.au.

Apply for a new use licence, approved testers or approved assessors

• Existing use licence holders, approved testers and approved assessors need to register on the licensing portal using the email address you provided to the department.
• The email address that we have recorded for you is a key part of the initial registration process on the portal. Please note that this email address needs to be unique to one person and not a shared account.
• If you hold a current use licence and you have registered with the email address that we have recorded on our register, then you will see your licence. Sometimes this matching process can take up to 15 minutes so do not worry if it isn’t there immediately.
• If you can’t see your licence after 15 minutes, please contact us by email listing your name, licence number, and confirming your preferred email address. The major reason for not seeing you licence is that the email that has been used to register is different to the one we have recorded. Do not apply for another licence as this application will result in you paying an unnecessary and non-refundable application fee.
• We do not post correspondence. All routine licensing communications will now only be sent to you via email.

To apply for new use licence, approved testers or approved assessors on the licensing portal:

Step 1: For use licence applications, confirm whether you need a use licence or are exempt from the requirement to hold a use licence. If you are unsure whether you already hold a current Victorian use licence, check our public register before applying.

Step 2: If you are required to hold a use licence, read the prerequisite requirements for licensing for your sector.

Step 3: Apply for your licence using the licensing portal. The licensing portal will ask you to select your occupation and then choose the radiation sources that you would like to be authorised to use. You will then be asked to upload the required prerequisites and pay the prescribed fee with either credit card (preferred) or by BPay.

If you need assistance to register please email radiation.safety@health.vic.gov.au.

Renew a use licence, tester’s approval, or assessor’s approval

1. You must first register with the new licensing portal using the email we have recorded for you, as this is the key part of the registration process.
2. When you have registered on the portal, our system will notify you by email 60 days before your licence expires. The email will invite you to renew your licence. The system will allow you to choose your licence period and whether you want to pay by credit card or BPay.
3. Your application to renew your licence is then sent to the department. You will be advised by email when your application has been decided. Assuming your application has been approved then you can download a copy of your licence.
4. Our public register is updated to reflect your new licence expiry date.

Get help on how to apply for a renewal of your radiation use licence

Register to renew your licence.

Renew expired use licence

Apply to renew your use licence within 60 days of the expiry date. After that time, the licence de-activates and you will need to re-apply for a use licence.

Management licences

We aim to add the management licence functionality to the portal in the first quarter of 2023. You will need to register on the portal if you are a management licence holder or a person authorised to act on behalf of a management licence holder.

Once the portal is operational, management licence holders and their authorised persons will be able to:

• download a copy of your licence
• apply to renew your licence
• apply to vary your licence
• apply for authorisation to dispose of radioactive material
• make mandatory notifications e.g. acquisition or disposal of a radiation source; research projects; incident reports etc
• apply to transfer a licence
• update your contact details.

In addition, the design of the licensing portal for management licences will:

• prompt the user to attach specific documents or answer specific questions relating to the application they are submitting,
• require the user, in some circumstances, to enter the manufacturer and model of equipment to ensure they are applying for the appropriate authorisation,
• send messages to the preferred email of the authorised contacts advising them of key issues such as:
  • the need to supply further information to support the application
  • pay any required fees
  • confirm the status of the application
  • download a copy of the licence when it has been issued by the department.

Application fee for management licence

We have decided to retain the current two-stage application process.

No fee will be payable at the time of lodging the application. You will receive an email to pay the required fee after your application has been assessed.

The portal will allow users to pay the fee directly or by credit card. Payment can also be made at a later time via BPay.

Authorised contact person

Every person who registers on the portal (and is not the actual management licence holder) is required to provide us with documentary evidence confirming that the management licence holder has authorised them to act on their behalf.

We call these ‘authorised contact persons’.

As many management licence holders have previously provided documents authorising a contact person to act on their behalf, no additional evidence of authorisation is needed, provided that we have a record of that authorisation.

Leading up to the implementation of the portal, we will email the ‘authorised contacts’ inviting them to pre-register on the portal.

If you wish to use the portal but are not yet authorised, you will still be able to pre-register on the portal, but you will be asked to provide the letter of authorisation evidence before being granted access to the management licence when the portal is implemented.

Authorised contact person and use licence emails

It is important that ‘authorised contact persons’ register on the portal using their preferred email address. Their email must be unique, so we strongly recommend that you do not use shared email addresses.

Some ‘authorised contact persons’ may have already registered on the portal because they hold a use licence. They will not need to register a second time. However, we are aware that some have previously registered with a personal email address (e.g. smith@gmail.com) rather than their work email address. If you want to use a different work email address for your activities as an authorised contact of a management licence holder then you will need to register a second account using that email address.

Note: Users may find it easier to use a single email registration for both their use licence and their work as an authorised contact of a management licence holder. For this reason, you may consider changing the portal email address to your work address to avoid having the need to have two separate portal accounts. If you change your employer at a later date, you can always change your contact email back before you leave your employment.

Once the management licence portal has been implemented, a previously authorised contact who has registered on the portal will see the relevant management licence. If it is not visible, it may be because a different email was used to register on the portal than we have previously recorded. In that case the authorised contact will need to email us so we can manually link the licence to their account.

Organisations are encouraged to consider having more than one authorised contact to cater for leave periods.

Transfer of existing management licence

Applications to transfer an existing management licence are not yet available on the portal.

Transfers will be processed via a new Smartform that will be uploaded on our website when the new management licensing portal is implemented.

The portal will eventually be enhanced to include this function.

Facility management licences

We're still working on this licence type so until we launch it in the new licensing self-service portal, you will need to apply using the form on our website.