Operation Buffalo: Four nuclear bombs were detonated at Maralinga on 27 September 1956.
Justice for the victims of nuclear testing in Australia in the 1950s - including AFP Protective Service Officers stationed at Maralinga decades later - may be a step closer.
UK media reports claim the British Ministry of Defence has admitted servicemen were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation as a result of the exercises.
Britain tested a series of nuclear weapons in Australia and the South Pacific during the 1950s and 60s, at locations including Christmas Island and Maralinga in South Australia. 20,000 servicemen from across the Commonwealth took part in the exercises.
Australian Federal Police Protective Service Officers were stationed at Maralinga to protect the site until 1988.
CPSU delegate Mark Hogan has been the driving force behind a campaign to win recognition and support for up to 300 Protective Service Officers who worked at the test site over the years.
Justice for Maralinga officers: Read more about CPSU delegate Mark Hogan's campaign here.
Mark's campaign won Australian Government support last year with a decision to extend non-liability health care (White Card) to PSOs, similar to benefits available to those who participated in the tests.
The British Government's admission is in response to a class action brought by hundreds of ex-servicemen involved in the testing from Britain, New Zealand and Fiji who took part in the exercises.
In papers submitted to the High Court in London, the British Ministry of Defence for the first time accepted responsibility for radiation exposure of test participants, citing 159 cases of servicemen who were affected.
With hearings set to begin in January 2009, court proceedings will be followed closely in Australia by surviving test participants and PSOs with the outcome of the case likely to determine the viability of any local legal action.
Veteran's Affairs Minister Alan Griffin has instructed his department to investigate developments in the UK and report back "urgently."
Recent media: Read an article from the Canberra Times here.
Video: Watch video of the atomic testing at Maralinga here.
