Acting minister for industry, science and technology Angus Taylor said the new facility will help to improve health care in Australia and will support nearly 1,000 highly skilled jobs across the country.
“Nuclear medicine is an essential part of an advanced healthcare system and helps save lives – that’s why we’re acting to secure a reliable nuclear medicine supply for future generations,” Mr Taylor said.
With 10,000-12,000 potential patient doses of nuclear medicine made by Ansto each week, most Australians are estimated to benefit from these medicines at least once in their lifetime.
Finance minister Simon Birmingham said there were immense opportunities for a collaborative approach and private sector involvement in the project. “Through this $30m commitment, we’ve laid the foundations for this facility, with private sector collaboration important to now realise its full benefits,” he said.
Ansto is Australia’s nuclear research facility. Ansto operates the Opal research reactor, various neutron beam instruments, the Australian synchrotron, the national imaging facility research cyclotron and the centre for accelerator science.
The Opal reactor, which began operation in 2007, is a 20-MW multi-purpose reactor that uses low enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for research and the production of commercial quantities of radioisotopes.