A federal government nuclear research body says fears Australia could be forced to accept nuclear waste from countries which import its uranium are unfounded.

The West Australian government has lifted a ban on uranium mining, reigniting the debate on nuclear waste.

But the president of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Ziggy Switkowski, says there is nothing to suggest Australia will be pressured into accepting waste from countries buying its uranium.

"Most countries have laws on their books that say if we are going to go nuclear we are responsible for our own waste, we will store in within our boundaries, we will not accept anybody else's waste," he said.

"I think you would struggle, you'd struggle to find nuclear waste that people wanted to send to Australia.

Dr Switkowski says West Australian government's decision to lift a ban on uranium mining is another step in the right direction.

He dismissed concern about finding a storage site for waste from future nuclear reactors.

"To find one location in central Australia presumably that will progressively store the spent fuel from Australia's reactors at the end of this century, we're talking 80 years out, strikes me as a very straight forward technical problem."