THE Federal Government has been sitting on a report on the decision to build a nuclear waste dump in the Territory for the past nine months.

Australia needs to build a waste facility by 2015, when spent nuclear fuel rods are returned from France.

The Government had previously promised to decide the location of the facility based on "science".

The Commonwealth's Radioactive Waste Section manager Patrick Davoren told the Senate Estimates committee that the Parson Brinckerhoff report into the sites was received in February.

But he said the report only looked at three Defence sites - all in the Northern Territory.

They included two near Alice Springs and another one in the Katherine region.

The report also considered Muckaty Station, near Tennant Creek, which was offered by the local traditional owners.

"The Government is considering its position in the light of that report and in light of its platform and its election commitment," he said.

Mr Davoren said the report had been with Cabinet since February.

He also said the department had not been looking at any site other than those in the Northern Territory.

"It's a complex political issue. We were asked to provide our input to it and we have done that," he said.

Labor is yet to fulfil a 2007 election promise to repeal the Commonwealth Radioactive Waste Management Act, which allows the Government to force a nuclear dump in the Territory.

Then Deputy Opposition Leader Julia Gillard promised on December 18, 2006, to reverse John Howard's decision to build a dump in the Territory. "Labor does not support the Howard Government decision to site a waste dump in the Northern Territory," she said.

Then Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd attacked the CLP during the 2007 campaign for supporting the dump.

NT Government spokesman Geoff Fraser said the Commonwealth understood the Territory's position that the process should be based on science. "We support the Australian Government's commitment to overturn legislation that allows the NT to be selected as the site because of its status as a Territory rather than a State," he said.