Jim has worked in a variety of roles in the Regulatory Services Branch at ARPANSA since joining in 2005, including Facility Safety Manager and Licensing and Compliance Manager. In April 2018, Jim was appointed to the position of Branch Head and Chief Regulatory Officer in
Regulatory Services.
Regulatory Services is responsible for the licensing and compliance monitoring of all
Australian Commonwealth government uses of radiation, including the operation of the 20
MW OPAL research reactor and radiopharmaceutical production facilities located at Lucas
Heights, near Sydney. ARPANSA also regulates all Defence uses of radiation, including
industrial radiography, use of sealed and unsealed sources, and operation of Defence’s
radioactive waste management stores.
Prior to joining ARPANSA in 2005, Jim worked as a nuclear medicine physicist in the UK,
Canada and Australia. In addition, Jim worked for over a decade in the Engineering Divisions
of the UK nuclear power generators, Nuclear Electric, Scottish Nuclear and British Energy.
Jim has significant nuclear engineering experience, gained during his career in the UK nuclear
industry. Whilst working at Scottish Nuclear he was appointed to the position of Senior
Engineer in the Reactor Technology Section, responsible for reactor physics, criticality and
shielding assessment work to support the operation of the two Scottish Advanced Gas-Cooled
Reactors at Hunterston B and Torness Power Stations, generating around 50% of Scotland’s
electricity needs at the time.
Jim holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Glasgow, an MSc in
Applied Radiation Physics from the University of Birmingham, and a BA in Mechanical
Engineering from the Open University.