The first shipment of Australian nuclear waste processed in France for long-term storage is expected to arrive back in the country today.

In the past two decades Australia has sent eight shiploads of waste overseas.

The Federal Government is now searching for a permanent dump site, not only for the waste to come back from Europe, but for locally made nuclear medical waste.

In the 1990s, the Federal Government made a deal with France to take some of our nuclear waste.

Australia does not have the capacity to reprocess it to make it safe for long-term storage.

France has now done that and what is left is on a ship coming home.

Emma Gibson from Greenpeace said the group was expecting it to arrive at Port Kembla today.

"Greenpeace is going to be down there waiting for the ship to arrive," she said.

"We're going to document it coming in ... and document it unloading its cargo and taking it to Lucas Heights to make sure we can reassure people that it's got there safely."

The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is refusing to confirm when the ship will dock.

Greenpeace has raised a number of concerns about the safety of the ship carrying the waste, the BBC Shanghai.

ANSTO has rejected claims that it is not seaworthy, and said it passed a rigorous safety inspection before leaving France.

After the waste is unloaded, it will be taken to the nuclear facility at Lucas Heights.

"We're all going to breathe a sigh of relief when this dodgy ship actually arrives and we want it to unload its cargo as safely as possible and take it by road to Lucas Heights, where we'll all breathe a sigh of relief when it gets there."

More waste to return from UK

Eight shipments were sent to France, the United Kingdom and the United States in the '90s and early 2000s.

The waste sent to the UK will return in the second half of this decade and the waste sent to the US will remain there.

"I think it's really important that we raise these issues with the first shipment now and to make sure that we don't get more dodgy stuff happening in future," Ms Gibson said.

Greenpeace has alleged that the waste onboard is more dangerous than what the Government is reporting, but ANSTO has rejected the claims.

While the waste will be kept at Lucas Heights in the interim, the Federal Government is in the midst of finding a permanent site for the dump.

Six areas have been named on its shortlist, including three in South Australia.

South Australia is currently holding a royal commission to investigate whether the state should become more involved in the nuclear industry.

Public consultation about the site of a permanent waste facility is underway and the Federal Government will narrow down the list to just three sites early next year.