Safety assessment is a critical aspect in the design of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The results of this assessment can be applied to improve NPP operational safety. This study aimed to review the implementation of NPP safety assessment approaches and their limitations. Challenges and strategies to develop and propose new approaches to address these limitations are also discussed to stimulate further research. The results show that the existing research on this topic is still limited to human error studies, fire risk evaluations, time trend analyses, and computational efficiency. This study also found that initiating event (IE) identification methodologies, computational algorithm optimization, and model validation techniques must be developed in the future to improve NPP safety assessment approaches. This study confirms that the customization of models and methods, the strengthening of time trend analysis, the development of models and tools for validation and verification processes, and capacity building are strategic for achieving an effective safety assessment. The strategies proposed in this study are expected to provide researchers with new insights to overcome the limitations and challenges of existing safety approaches. Since Indonesia does not currently have any commercial nuclear power plants, models for development, time-trend analysis, and verification and validation must integrate Indonesia’s operational experience, IAEA guidance, and international best practices. External events and fire hazards should be given special consideration because of their relatively higher likelihood and potential impact. Indonesia’s extensive experience in operating research reactors offers good capacity-building. © 2026 Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Indonesia. All rights reserved.