Senate Economics Legislation Committee [Part 2], , 56:17 to 1:01:14
Senator Payman questions ANSTO regarding the number of employees signing non-disclosure agreements and details surrounding a self-reported safety incident at the Building 57 nuclear waste facility.
Topics: Integrity, National security
Speakers: Senator Fatima Payman, Shaun Jenkinson, Speaker 1, Unknown Speaker
much for coming back everyone. Um, the committee will resume and we are still hearing from uh, ANSTO, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization and we'll go straight to Senator Payman.
non-disclosure agreements, how many ANSTO employees who have separated employment since 1st of June 2025 have signed non-disclosure agreements?
>> Senator, thank you for the question. Um I don't have that detail on hand. I would have to take that question on notice.
>> Okay. Um great cuz I would like to know how many of the number of employees that signed an NDA uh were senior employees. That'd be great. Um, can you please provide on notice a yearon-year breakdown of the total number of employees who have signed NDA since 2021?
>> Uh, NDAs relating to all aspects of our
>> Uh, I guess any total number of employees I guess if they're employed >> um by anto I would like to know that. Um my office has been informed that that an incident occurred in 2025 at your building 57 facility which stores nuclear waste. Uh this is the same facility which was subject to a direction from our panza which short of going to court is the most serious regulatory action our panza can take. Are you aware of an incident involving building 57 happening in 2025?
and not in 2025 standard payment. I'd have to get more detail on that.
>> More detail you'd like.
>> I can go and look up and and because we log all incidents, so I'd have to go and look that up.
>> But in building 57 in particular, I
>> I don't have any particular specific knowledge to hand, but we keep a very comprehensive record of reports across the organization. I'd have to go and look that up.
cuz yeah I'm curious to understand how our panza came >> to issue a direction.
>> So maybe that that we self-reported an incident in 25 that then became the subject of review by our panza that led to the direction. That might be what you're talking about. So
>> and that was involving building 57.
>> That was 57. Yes. >> In 2025. It would have been in 2025 that we self-reported the incident to a panza that then led to that investigation and direction. So that's probably the correct timeline.
>> So are you able to tell the committee what the nature of the incident was?
was some work was carried out with all the without the full authorities being in place to do so. When that was identified, the work was stopped and we self-reported to Apanza that that had happened. And as a result of that, we've uh completed both an internal investigation and our panza issued a direction as you identified and uh as a result we've fulfilled to date all the criteria of that direction on time and we continue to work with the recommendations from that.
>> Thank you. Can we get the date of when you self-reported to our panza?
>> I again would have to get that.
>> Yep. No worries. Um it's been suggested that the following people were notified about the incident. Ansto board chair Aranza comare disr and southerntherland shy council. Did Anstone notify these parties about the
>> We will have notified all of them about and discussed the incident with all of
them. Yes. Um for each party when were they notified?
>> I again would have to come back to you on the details of that.
>> Um on what day did the broader and sto board receive notification in writing uh about the building 57 incident?
>> Again, Senator Payman, I'll need to take that on not just to be specific.
>> No worries. Was the DISR secretary notified directly and if so when?
>> Again, I'll need to take the detail of
how many meetings via phone call or otherwise were held between the Arpanza CEO and either the ANSTO CEO, which is yourself, um, and or the ANSTO board chair with no other attendees present and no minutes taken in the period covering 1st of June 2025 until present.
>> Um, I will need to take that on notice. Since payment,
>> uh, thank you. Um, an Stow's general manager for regulatory and governance uh, resigned in June 2026 in the midst of the Aranza regulatory direction. Did the general manager sign a non-disclosure agreement with ANSTO upon separation?