Virtually all national and international radiation protection regulations and standards are based on the recommendations published by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). New recommendations, to replace those issued in 1990, are in the process of being developed for issuance in 2005, and it is in the interest of all NEA Member countries to ensure that these recommendations meet the needs of national regulatory organisations and practitioners. Since revisions began at the ICRP in 1999, the NEA Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) has been leading discussions regarding what, in the old recommendations, could be improved or changed to make any new recommendations more functional. Based on a preliminary two-year study to identify those areas that should be improved, this report suggests specific improvements that would render the new system easier to understand and apply, and that should be considered for inclusion in the new ICRP recommendations.