Australia today becomes the first country to adopt the new Additional Protocol to its safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In a ceremony at IAEA headquarters on 23 September 1997, the Resident Representative of Australia to the IAEA, Ambassador Lance Louis Joseph, signed the Protocol, the model text of which was adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on 15 May 1997.

The Protocol embodies measures to strengthen the IAEA safeguards system, through providing greater access for the IAEA to information about States' nuclear programmes, current and planned. It also provides for more access to locations. Access for IAEA inspectors is foreseen not only to nuclear sites but to other locations that could be relevant to nuclear activities, such as research or manufacturing facilities; they will also make use of advanced analytical technology.

A number of other countries have announced their intention to sign an Additional Protocol to their respective safeguards agreements during the IAEA's 41st Regular Session of the General Conference. This will take place in Vienna, Austria, from 29 September to 3 October 1997.