Brendan Elliott, spokesperson at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), said the organisation was still waiting for information before a decision could be reached.
The ARPANSA's regulation branch is conducting a report looking at the technical aspects of the design, which includes assessing computer controls for the reactor.
-They're looking at the software and the other aspects as well, basically anything and everything for the reactor to function properly and safely," Elliott said.
According to Elliott, ARPANSA's CEO, Dr John Loy, was hoping to decide sometime in March whether a construction licence would be granted for the building of a replacement research reactor at Lucas Heights.
Loy is also waiting for advice from the Nuclear Safety Committee, and also a security review which the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation has been carrying out. Elliott said that under legislation which created the ARPANSA, it had to decide whether the reactor could be built and operated safely in its lifetime.
