An ageing facility at the site of Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor will be replaced with a state-of-the-art medicine manufacturing site in an upgrade expected to take more than a decade.
The federal government will fund construction of the facility, which will make nuclear medicines to help treat diseases like cancer.
It will replace Building 23, developed in the 1950s, at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) campus on Sydney's southern outskirts.
ANSTO produces up to 80 per cent of nuclear medicine isotopes used in Australia, including for common procedures such as bone-density scans.
An independent review will look at the design of the new facility, the development of which will be subject to a tender process.
The project is not expected to be completed until the mid-2030s and its expected cost has not been disclosed, despite potentially ranging in the hundreds of millions.
Industry Minister Ed Husic said he could not discuss the project's cost as it had been put out for commercial tender.
"We're not building something that's just a shed in the middle of a paddock, so people can appreciate that it's going to be a bit complex," Mr Husic told Sydney radio 2GB on Tuesday.
The ageing existing facility will be maintained for roughly the next decade until the new facility is commissioned and operational.
Mr Husic said it is estimated on average every Australian will use nuclear medicine at least twice in their life.
“ANSTO’s nuclear medicine precinct in Sydney will revolutionise the domestic production of nuclear medicines and improve the lives of thousands of Australians," he said.
The former coalition government in 2021 announced $30 million in funding would go towards plans to overhaul the Building 23 site, which was declared as not meeting modern safety standards after a 2018 review.
The review followed a serious incident at the facility in 2017, when a worker suffered radiation burns after dropping a vial of radioactive material.
Acting ANSTO chief executive Andrew Peele said the funding boost would futureproof Australia’s sovereign capabilities for domestic nuclear medicine manufacturing.
“This new purpose-built facility will ensure ANSTO has the flexibility to adapt to evolving manufacturing technologies and meet the changing needs of the radiopharmaceuticals market, particularly as cancer and other illness diagnosis rates continue to grow,” he said.
