Standards are safety levels that are recommended for exposure to electromagnetic fields and are derived from expert reviews of the scientific literature. The main standard-setting body internationally is the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). This is the international standard that is followed in Australia.
ARPANSA is the Australian Government's primary authority on radiation protection and nuclear safety. ARPANSA undertakes research, provides services, and promotes national uniformity and the implementation of international best practice across all jurisdictions to protect people and the environment from the harmful effects of radiation. ARPANSA is also responsible for the Australian Standard that limits exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields to protect the Australian public and workers from the harmful effects of such exposure. The ARPANSA Standard is aligned with guidelines produced by ICNIRP which are considered international best practice. The ARPANSA Standard (RPS S-1) and associated supporting materials can be found on the ARPANSA website.
ICNIRP is a publicly funded body of independent scientific experts consisting of a main commission of 14 members, a scientific expert group and several specific project groups comprised of members of the main commission and scientific expert group. The expertise is used to address the important issues of possible adverse effects on human health of exposure to non-ionizing radiation. The scientific expertise of ICNIRP includes medicine, dermatology, ophthalmology, epidemiology, biology, photobiology, physiology, physics, electrical engineering and dosimetry. The ICNIRP guidelines on exposure to electromagnetic fields were updated in 2020, and cover many applications such as 5G technologies, WiFi, Bluetooth, mobile phones, and base stations. The new guidelines replace and supersede the 100 kHz to 300 GHz part of the ICNIRP (1998) radiofrequency guidelines, as well as the 100 kHz to 10 MHz part of the ICNIRP (2010) low-frequency guidelines. The ICNIRP 2020 guidelines can be found on the ICNIRP website