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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
Gene Technology Amendment
Bill 2007
Queensland
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
Contents
Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Amendment of s 31 (Simplified outline of pt 4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Replacement of s 32 (Person not to deal with a GMO without a
licence with full knowledge or recklessness) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
32 Person not to deal with a GMO without a licence
with full knowledge or recklessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 Amendment of s 33 (Person not to deal with a GMO without a
licence) .......................................... 7
6 Amendment of s 34 (Person must not breach conditions of a
GMO licence with full intention and knowledge or recklessness). 7
7 Insertion of new ss 35A and 35B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
35A Person must not breach conditions of emergency
dealing determination with full intention and
knowledge or recklessness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
35B Person must not breach conditions of emergency
dealing determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8 Insertion of new s 40A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
40A Licences relating to inadvertent dealings . . . . . . . . . . 9
9 Amendment of s 42 (Regulator may require applicant to give
further information) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
10 Amendment of s 43 (Regulator must consider applications
except in certain circumstances) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
11 Insertion of new s 46A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
46A Division does not apply to an application relating to
inadvertent dealings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
12 Replacement of s 49 (Dealings that may pose significant risks
to the health and safety of people or the environment) . . . . . . . . 11
49 Division does not apply to an application relating to
inadvertent dealings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
13 Amendment of s 50 (Regulator must prepare risk assessment
and risk management plan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
14 Insertion of new s 50A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
50A Limited and controlled release applications . . . . . . . . 12
15 Amendment of s 51 (Matters regulator must take into account
in preparing risk assessment and risk management plan) . . . . . . 13
16 Amendment of s 52 (Public notification of risk assessment and
risk management plan). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
17 Amendment of s 56 (Regulator must not issue the licence
unless satisfied as to risk management) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
18 Amendment of s 57 (Other circumstances in which regulator
must not issue the licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
19 Amendment of s 60 (Period of licence) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
20 Amendment of s 67 (Protection of persons who give information) 15
21 Amendment of s 71 (Variation of licence). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
22 Amendment of s 72 (Regulator to notify of proposed
suspension, cancellation or variation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
23 Amendment of s 72A (GMO licence--annual charge) . . . . . . . . . 17
24 Insertion of new pt 5A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Part 5A Emergency dealing determinations
Division 1 Simplified outline
72A Simplified outline of pt 5A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Division 2 Making of emergency dealing determination
72B Minister may make emergency dealing determination 18
72C Period of effect of emergency dealing determination . 18
Division 3 Effect and conditions of emergency dealing
determination
72D Emergency dealing determination authorises
dealings, subject to conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Division 4 Variation, suspension and revocation of
emergency dealing determination
72E Variation, suspension and revocation of emergency
dealing determination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
25 Amendment of s 78 (Regulator may include dealings with
GMOs on GMO register) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
26 Amendment of s 82 (Simplified outline of pt 7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
27 Amendment of s 83 (Application for certification). . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
28 Amendment of s 89 (Regulator to notify of proposed
suspension, cancellation or variation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
29 Insertion of new s 89A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
89A Transfer of certification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
30 Amendment of s 91 (Application for accreditation). . . . . . . . . . . . 24
31 Amendment of s 92 (Regulator may accredit organisations) . . . . 25
32 Amendment of s 97 (Regulator to notify of proposed
suspension, cancellation or variation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
33 Replacement of s 107 (Function of consultative committee) . . . . 26
107 Function of ethics and community committee . . . . . . 26
34 Replacement of ss 110 and 110A and pt 8, div 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
110 Membership and procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
111 Subcommittees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
112 Expert advisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
35 Amendment of s 136A (Quarterly reports) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
36 Amendment of s 138 (Record of GMO and GM product
dealings) ..................................... 27
37 Amendment of s 145 (Simplified outline of pt 10). . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
38 Amendment of s 146 (Regulator may give directions) . . . . . . . . . 28
39 Amendment of s 149 (Simplified outline of pt 11). . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
40 Amendment of s 152 (Powers available to inspectors for
monitoring compliance) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
41 Amendment of s 177 (Part does not limit power to impose
licence conditions) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
42 Amendment of s 182 (Deadlines for making reviewable
decisions) ..................................... 31
43 Amendment of s 185 (Regulator may declare that information
is confidential commercial information) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
44 Amendment of s 192A (Interference with dealings with GMOs). . 32
45 Replacement of s 194 (Review of operation of Act) . . . . . . . . . . . 32
194 Review of operation of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
46 Amendment of sch 1 (Reviewable decisions and eligible
persons) ...................................... 32
47 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Schedule Minor amendments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2007
A Bill
for
An Act to amend the Gene Technology Act 2001
s1 6 s4
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Clause 1 Short title 2
This Act may be cited as the Gene Technology Amendment 3
Act 2007. 4
Clause 2 Act amended 5
This Act amends the Gene Technology Act 2001. 6
Clause 3 Amendment of s 31 (Simplified outline of pt 4) 7
Section 31(b)-- 8
insert-- 9
`(ia) the dealing is stated in an emergency dealing 10
determination; or'. 11
Clause 4 Replacement of s 32 (Person not to deal with a GMO 12
without a licence with full knowledge or recklessness) 13
Section 32-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`32 Person not to deal with a GMO without a licence 16
with full knowledge or recklessness 17
`A person commits an indictable offence if-- 18
(a) the person deals with a GMO, knowing it is a GMO; and 19
(b) the dealing with the GMO by the person is not 20
authorised by a GMO licence, and the person knows or 21
is reckless as to that fact; and 22
(c) the dealing with the GMO is not stated in an emergency 23
dealing determination, and the person knows or is 24
reckless as to that fact; and 25
(d) the dealing is not a notifiable low risk dealing, and the 26
person knows or is reckless as to that fact; and 27
s5 7 s6
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(e) the dealing is not an exempt dealing, and the person 1
knows or is reckless as to that fact; and 2
(f) the dealing is not included on the GMO register, and the 3
person knows or is reckless as to that fact. 4
Maximum penalty-- 5
(a) for an aggravated offence--5 years imprisonment or 6
2933 penalty units; or 7
(b) otherwise--2 years imprisonment or 733 penalty units. 8
Notes-- 9
1 This section differs from section 32 of the Commonwealth Act. 10
2 For provisions corresponding to section 32(4) of the 11
Commonwealth Act, see the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, 12
section 24.'. 13
Clause 5 Amendment of s 33 (Person not to deal with a GMO 14
without a licence) 15
Section 33(1)-- 16
insert-- 17
`(ba) the dealing with the GMO is not stated in an emergency 18
dealing determination; and'. 19
Clause 6 Amendment of s 34 (Person must not breach conditions 20
of a GMO licence with full intention and knowledge or 21
recklessness) 22
Section 34(1) and (2)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`(1) The holder of a GMO licence commits an indictable offence 25
if-- 26
(a) the holder intentionally takes an action or omits to take 27
an action; and 28
(b) the action or omission contravenes the licence, and the 29
holder knows or is reckless as to that fact. 30
Maximum penalty-- 31
s7 8 s7
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(a) for an aggravated offence--5 years imprisonment or 1
2933 penalty units; or 2
(b) otherwise--2 years imprisonment or 733 penalty units. 3
`(2) A person covered by a GMO licence commits an indictable 4
offence if-- 5
(a) the person intentionally takes an action or omits to take 6
an action; and 7
(b) the person has knowledge of the conditions of the 8
licence; and 9
(c) the action or omission contravenes a condition of the 10
licence, and the person knows or is reckless as to that 11
fact. 12
Maximum penalty-- 13
(a) for an aggravated offence--5 years imprisonment or 14
2933 penalty units; or 15
(b) otherwise--2 years imprisonment or 733 penalty units.'. 16
Clause 7 Insertion of new ss 35A and 35B 17
After section 35-- 18
insert-- 19
`35A Person must not breach conditions of emergency 20
dealing determination with full intention and 21
knowledge or recklessness 22
`A person commits an indictable offence if-- 23
(a) the person intentionally takes an action or omits to take 24
an action; and 25
(b) the person has knowledge of the conditions to which an 26
emergency dealing determination is subject; and 27
(c) the action or omission contravenes a condition 28
mentioned in paragraph (b), and the person knows or is 29
reckless as to that fact. 30
Maximum penalty-- 31
(a) for an aggravated offence--5 years imprisonment or 32
2933 penalty units; or 33
s8 9 s8
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(b) otherwise--2 years imprisonment or 733 penalty units. 1
Note-- 2
This section differs from section 35A of the Commonwealth Act. 3
`35B Person must not breach conditions of emergency 4
dealing determination 5
`A person commits an offence if-- 6
(a) the person takes an action or omits to take an action; and 7
(b) the person has knowledge of the conditions to which an 8
emergency dealing determination is subject; and 9
(c) the action or omission by the person contravenes a 10
condition mentioned in paragraph (b). 11
Maximum penalty-- 12
(a) for an aggravated offence--293 penalty units; or 13
(b) otherwise--73 penalty units. 14
Notes-- 15
1 This section differs from section 35B of the Commonwealth Act. 16
2 This section does not affect the Criminal Code, sections 23 and 17
24.'. 18
Clause 8 Insertion of new s 40A 19
After section 40-- 20
insert-- 21
`40A Licences relating to inadvertent dealings 22
`(1) If the regulator is satisfied that a person has come into 23
possession of a GMO inadvertently, the regulator may, with 24
the agreement of the person, treat the person as having made 25
an inadvertent dealings application. 26
`(2) To remove any doubt, it is declared that subsection (1) does 27
not prevent a person from making an application under 28
section 40 in relation to a GMO that has inadvertently come 29
into the person's possession. 30
s9 10 s 11
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
Note-- 1
Sections 46A and 49 have the effect that the regulator may expedite 2
consideration of an application to dispose of a GMO that has come into 3
a person's possession inadvertently. These sections have effect whether 4
the application is made under section 40, or is taken to have been made 5
under this section.'. 6
Clause 9 Amendment of s 42 (Regulator may require applicant to 7
give further information) 8
Section 42-- 9
insert-- 10
`(3) The regulator may require information to be given under this 11
section at any time before the regulator decides the 12
application, whether before or after the regulator has begun to 13
consider the application.'. 14
Clause 10 Amendment of s 43 (Regulator must consider 15
applications except in certain circumstances) 16
(1) Section 43(2), after `application', first mention-- 17
insert-- 18
`, or may cease considering the application,'. 19
(2) Section 43(2)-- 20
insert-- 21
`(f) the regulator is satisfied, having regard to the matters 22
mentioned in section 58, that the applicant is not a 23
suitable person to hold the licence.'. 24
Clause 11 Insertion of new s 46A 25
After section 46-- 26
insert-- 27
`46A Division does not apply to an application relating to 28
inadvertent dealings 29
`Despite section 46, this division does not apply to an 30
application for a GMO licence if the regulator is satisfied 31
that-- 32
s 12 11 s 14
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(a) the dealings proposed to be authorised by the licence are 1
limited to dealings to be undertaken for the purposes of, 2
or for purposes relating to, disposing of a GMO; and 3
(b) the applicant for the licence came into possession of the 4
GMO inadvertently.'. 5
Clause 12 Replacement of s 49 (Dealings that may pose significant 6
risks to the health and safety of people or the 7
environment) 8
Section 49-- 9
omit, insert-- 10
`49 Division does not apply to an application relating to 11
inadvertent dealings 12
`Despite section 48, this division does not apply to an 13
application for a GMO licence if the regulator is satisfied 14
that-- 15
(a) the dealings proposed to be authorised by the licence are 16
limited to dealings to be undertaken for the purposes of, 17
or for purposes relating to, disposing of a GMO; and 18
(b) the applicant for the licence came into possession of the 19
GMO inadvertently.'. 20
Clause 13 Amendment of s 50 (Regulator must prepare risk 21
assessment and risk management plan) 22
(1) Section 50(2)-- 23
omit. 24
(2) Section 50(3), `The'-- 25
omit, insert-- 26
`Unless section 50A applies in relation to the application for 27
the licence, the'. 28
Clause 14 Insertion of new s 50A 29
After section 50-- 30
insert-- 31
s 14 12 s 14
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
`50A Limited and controlled release applications 1
`(1) This section applies to an application for a licence if the 2
regulator is satisfied that-- 3
(a) the principal purpose of the application is to enable the 4
licence holder, and persons covered by the licence, to 5
conduct experiments; and 6
(b) the application proposes, in relation to any GMO for 7
which dealings are proposed to be authorised-- 8
(i) controls to restrict the dissemination or persistence 9
of the GMO and its genetic material in the 10
environment; and 11
(ii) limits on the proposed release of the GMO; and 12
(c) the controls and limits are of a kind that it is appropriate 13
for the regulator not to seek the advice mentioned in 14
section 50(3). 15
`(2) In deciding whether the principal purpose of an application is 16
to enable the licence holder, and persons covered by the 17
licence, to conduct experiments, the regulator-- 18
(a) must have regard to whether the applicant proposes that 19
any or all of the following be authorised by, and done 20
under, the licence-- 21
(i) testing hypotheses; 22
(ii) gaining scientific or technical knowledge; 23
(iii) gaining data for regulatory purposes, or for product 24
development or marketing; and 25
(b) may have regard to any other matter the regulator 26
considers to be relevant. 27
`(3) In this section-- 28
controls, in relation to restricting the dissemination or 29
persistence of a GMO and its genetic material in the 30
environment, include the following-- 31
(a) stated methods for disposal of the GMO or its genetic 32
material; 33
(b) data collection requirements, including studies to be 34
conducted about the GMO or its genetic material; 35
s 15 13 s 16
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(c) a restricted geographic area in which the proposed 1
dealings with the GMO or its genetic material may 2
occur; 3
(d) compliance, in relation to dealings with the GMO or its 4
genetic material, with-- 5
(i) a code of practice issued under section 24; or 6
(ii) a technical or procedural guideline issued under 7
section 27. 8
limits, in relation to the release of a GMO that is proposed to 9
be authorised by a licence, includes limits on any of the 10
following-- 11
(a) the scope of the dealings with the GMO; 12
(b) the scale of the dealings with the GMO; 13
(c) the locations of the dealings with the GMO; 14
(d) the duration of the dealings with the GMO; 15
(e) the persons who are to be permitted to conduct the 16
dealings with the GMO. 17
Note-- 18
This section differs from section 50A of the Commonwealth Act.'. 19
Clause 15 Amendment of s 51 (Matters regulator must take into 20
account in preparing risk assessment and risk 21
management plan) 22
(1) Section 51(1)(a), `mentioned in section 49(2)(a) to (g)'-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`prescribed under a regulation'. 25
(2) Section 51(1)(b) and (2)(b)-- 26
omit. 27
Clause 16 Amendment of s 52 (Public notification of risk 28
assessment and risk management plan) 29
(1) Section 52(1), `49 (if applicable),'-- 30
omit. 31
s 17 14 s 18
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(2) Section 52(2)-- 1
insert-- 2
`(ba) if the regulator is satisfied that 1 or more dealings 3
proposed to be authorised by the licence may pose a 4
significant risk to the health and safety of people or to 5
the environment--that the regulator is so satisfied; and'. 6
(3) Section 52(2)(d), from `than'-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`than-- 9
(i) if the notice states that the regulator is satisfied that the 10
dealings proposed to be authorised by the licence may 11
pose a significant risk to the health and safety of people 12
or to the environment--50 days after the date on which 13
the notice was published; or 14
(ii) otherwise--30 days after the date on which the notice 15
was published.'. 16
Clause 17 Amendment of s 56 (Regulator must not issue the licence 17
unless satisfied as to risk management) 18
(1) Section 56(2)(a) and (b)-- 19
omit, insert-- 20
`(a) the risk assessment prepared under section 47 or 50 in 21
relation to the dealings; 22
(b) the risk management plan prepared under section 47 or 23
50 in relation to the dealings;'. 24
(2) Section 56(2)-- 25
insert-- 26
`Note-- 27
Subsection (2)(a), (b) and (c) does not apply to an inadvertent dealings 28
application.'. 29
Clause 18 Amendment of s 57 (Other circumstances in which 30
regulator must not issue the licence) 31
Section 57-- 32
s 19 15 s 21
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
insert-- 1
`(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to an inadvertent dealings 2
application.'. 3
Clause 19 Amendment of s 60 (Period of licence) 4
Section 60-- 5
insert-- 6
`(3) A licence issued as a result of an inadvertent dealings 7
application must not be expressed to be in force for a period of 8
longer than 1 year.'. 9
Clause 20 Amendment of s 67 (Protection of persons who give 10
information) 11
Section 67, `or 66'-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
`, 66 or 72D(2)(h)'. 14
Clause 21 Amendment of s 71 (Variation of licence) 15
(1) Section 71(1)-- 16
omit, insert-- 17
`(1) The regulator may vary a licence by notice in writing given to 18
the licence holder-- 19
(a) at any time, on the regulator's own initiative; or 20
(b) on application by the licence holder. 21
`(1A) An application for a variation must be in writing and must 22
contain-- 23
(a) the information, if any, prescribed under a regulation; 24
and 25
(b) the information specified in writing by the regulator.'. 26
(2) Section 71(2), `However, the'-- 27
omit, insert-- 28
`The'. 29
s 21 16 s 21
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(3) Section 71-- 1
insert-- 2
`(2A) The regulator must not vary a licence if the original 3
application for the licence was an application to which section 4
50A applied, unless-- 5
(a) the regulator is satisfied the principal purpose of the 6
licence as proposed to be varied is to enable the licence 7
holder and persons covered by the licence to conduct 8
experiments; and 9
(b) the application for variation proposes, in relation to any 10
GMO for which dealings are proposed to be authorised 11
as a result of the variation-- 12
(i) controls to restrict the dissemination or persistence 13
of the GMO and its genetic material in the 14
environment; and 15
(ii) limits on the proposed release of the GMO; and 16
(c) the regulator is satisfied the controls and limits are of a 17
kind that it is appropriate for the regulator not to seek 18
the advice mentioned in section 50(3). 19
Note-- 20
Section 50A applies to an application that proposes controls and limits 21
on the dissemination, persistence and release of the GMO concerned 22
and is for the purpose of conducting experiments. 23
`(2B) The regulator must not vary a licence if the regulator is 24
satisfied the risk assessment and the risk management plan in 25
relation to the original application for the licence did not 26
cover the risks posed by the dealings proposed to be 27
authorised by the licence as varied.'. 28
(4) Section 71(4), `However, the regulator must not vary the'-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
`The regulator must not vary a'. 31
(5) Section 71-- 32
insert-- 33
s 22 17 s 24
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
`(5) The regulator must not vary a licence unless any local 1
government the regulator considers appropriate has been 2
consulted on the proposed variation. 3
`(6) The regulator must not vary a licence in the circumstances, if 4
any, prescribed under a regulation. 5
`(7) If an application has been made for variation of a licence, the 6
regulator must vary the licence, or refuse to vary the licence, 7
within the period, if any, prescribed under a regulation. 8
`(8) In this section-- 9
controls see section 50A(3). 10
limits see section 50A(3). 11
Note-- 12
This section differs from section 71 of the Commonwealth Act.'. 13
Clause 22 Amendment of s 72 (Regulator to notify of proposed 14
suspension, cancellation or variation) 15
Section 72-- 16
insert-- 17
`(7) This section does not apply to a variation of a licence if the 18
regulator is satisfied the variation is of minor significance or 19
complexity.'. 20
Clause 23 Amendment of s 72A (GMO licence--annual charge) 21
Section 72A-- 22
renumber as section 72AA. 23
Clause 24 Insertion of new pt 5A 24
After section 72AA, as renumbered-- 25
insert-- 26
s 24 18 s 24
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
`Part 5A Emergency dealing 1
determinations 2
`Division 1 Simplified outline 3
`72A Simplified outline of pt 5A 4
`In outline, this part provides a system under which the 5
Minister may make determinations relating to dealings with 6
GMOs in emergencies. 7
Note-- 8
This section differs from section 72A of the Commonwealth Act. 9
`Division 2 Making of emergency dealing 10
determination 11
`72B Minister may make emergency dealing determination 12
`(1) The Minister may, by gazette notice (an emergency dealing 13
determination), state dealings with a GMO for this part. 14
`(2) The Minister may make an emergency dealing determination 15
only if the Minister administering section 72B of the 16
Commonwealth Act has made, or is proposing to make, a 17
corresponding Commonwealth emergency dealing 18
determination. 19
Notes-- 20
1 This section differs from section 72B of the Commonwealth Act. 21
2 Section 72B(3) of the Commonwealth Act deals with threats of a 22
kind mentioned in section 72B(2) of the Commonwealth Act. 23
3 For provisions corresponding to section 72B(4) of the 24
Commonwealth Act, see the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, 25
section 24. 26
`72C Period of effect of emergency dealing determination 27
`(1) An emergency dealing determination takes effect-- 28
s 24 19 s 24
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(a) on the day on which the emergency dealing 1
determination is made; or 2
(b) on a later day stated in the emergency dealing 3
determination. 4
`(2) An emergency dealing determination ceases to have effect-- 5
(a) subject to subsection (3), at the end of the 6 month 6
period starting when the emergency dealing 7
determination takes effect; or 8
(b) at the end of the period stated by the Minister in the 9
emergency dealing determination; or 10
(c) when the emergency dealing determination is revoked; 11
whichever happens first. 12
`(3) The Minister may, by gazette notice, extend the period of 13
effect of an emergency dealing determination. 14
`(4) The Minister may extend the period of effect of an emergency 15
dealing determination under subsection (3) more than once, 16
but each single extension must not exceed 6 months. 17
`(5) The Minister may extend the period of effect of an emergency 18
dealing determination only if the Minister administering 19
section 72C of the Commonwealth Act has under that section 20
extended, or is proposing to extend under that section, the 21
period of effect of the corresponding Commonwealth 22
emergency dealing declaration. 23
`(6) A notice extending the period of effect of an emergency 24
dealing determination takes effect when the determination 25
would have ceased to have effect but for the extension. 26
Note-- 27
This section differs from section 72C of the Commonwealth Act. 28
s 24 20 s 24
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
`Division 3 Effect and conditions of emergency 1
dealing determination 2
`72D Emergency dealing determination authorises 3
dealings, subject to conditions 4
`(1) If an emergency dealing determination is in force in relation 5
to dealings with a GMO, the dealings are authorised, subject 6
to the conditions, if any, stated in the emergency dealing 7
determination. 8
`(2) Conditions may relate to, but are not limited to, the 9
following-- 10
(a) the quantity of GMO in relation to which dealings are 11
covered; 12
(b) the scope of the dealings covered; 13
(c) the purposes for which the dealings may be undertaken; 14
(d) variations to the scope or purposes of the dealings; 15
(e) the source of the GMO; 16
(f) the persons who may deal with the GMO; 17
(g) the information required to be given by a person and the 18
person to whom the information must be given; 19
(h) obligations about informing the regulator if-- 20
(i) a person becomes aware of additional information 21
as to any risks to the health and safety of people, or 22
to the environment, associated with the dealings 23
stated in the emergency dealing determination; or 24
(ii) a person becomes aware of any contraventions, by 25
any person, of the conditions to which the 26
emergency dealing determination is subject; or 27
(iii) a person becomes aware of any unintended effects 28
of the dealings stated in the emergency dealing 29
determination; 30
(i) the storage and security of the GMO; 31
s 24 21 s 24
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(j) the required level of containment in relation to the 1
dealings, including requirements relating to the 2
certification of facilities to stated containment levels; 3
(k) waste disposal requirements; 4
(l) the way in which any quantity of the GMO must be dealt 5
with if a condition of the emergency dealing 6
determination is breached; 7
(m) measures to manage risks posed to the health and safety 8
of people or to the environment; 9
(n) data collection, including studies to be conducted; 10
(o) auditing and reporting; 11
(p) the keeping and disclosure of, and access to, records 12
about the GMO; 13
(q) actions to be taken in case of the release of the GMO 14
from a contained environment; 15
(r) the geographic area in which the dealings stated in the 16
emergency dealing determination may occur; 17
(s) requirements for compliance with a code of practice 18
issued under section 24, or a technical or procedural 19
guideline issued under section 27; 20
(t) supervision by, and monitoring by, institutional 21
biosafety committees; 22
(u) contingency planning in relation to unintended effects of 23
the dealings stated in the emergency dealing 24
determination; 25
(v) limiting the dissemination or persistence of the GMO or 26
its genetic material in the environment; 27
(w) any other matters the Minister considers appropriate. 28
`(4) It is a condition of an emergency dealing determination that 29
if-- 30
(a) a dealing with a GMO is stated in the emergency dealing 31
determination; and 32
(b) a particular condition of the emergency dealing 33
determination applies to the dealing by a person; 34
s 24 22 s 24
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
the person must allow the regulator, or a person authorised by 1
the regulator, to enter premises where the dealing is being 2
undertaken, for auditing or monitoring the dealing. 3
`(5) Subsection (4) does not limit the conditions that may be stated 4
in an emergency dealing determination. 5
Notes-- 6
1 This section differs from section 72D of the Commonwealth Act. 7
2 For provisions corresponding to section 72D(3) of the 8
Commonwealth Act, see the Statutory Instruments Act 1992, 9
section 24. 10
`Division 4 Variation, suspension and 11
revocation of emergency dealing 12
determination 13
`72E Variation, suspension and revocation of emergency 14
dealing determination 15
`(1) The Minister may, by gazette notice, vary the conditions to 16
which an emergency dealing determination is subject, 17
including by imposing new conditions, if the Minister 18
administering section 72E of the Commonwealth Act has 19
made, or is proposing to make, the same variation to the 20
corresponding Commonwealth emergency dealing 21
determination. 22
`(2) The Minister may, by gazette notice, suspend or revoke an 23
emergency dealing determination if the Minister 24
administering section 72E of the Commonwealth Act has 25
suspended or revoked, or is proposing to suspend or revoke, 26
the corresponding Commonwealth emergency dealing 27
determination. 28
Note-- 29
Section 72E of the Commonwealth Act includes a subsection (3) 30
dealing with consultation with the States in relation to the variation, 31
suspension or revocation of an emergency dealing determination. 32
`(4) A variation, suspension or revocation of an emergency dealing 33
determination takes effect-- 34
s 25 23 s 28
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(a) if the Minister states in the variation, suspension or 1
revocation that the variation, suspension or revocation is 2
necessary to prevent imminent risk of death, serious 3
illness, serious injury or serious environmental 4
damage--on the day on which the variation, suspension 5
or revocation is made; or 6
(b) otherwise--on the day stated by the Minister in the 7
variation, suspension or revocation. 8
`(5) The day stated as mentioned in subsection (4)(b) must not be 9
earlier than 30 days after the day on which the variation, 10
suspension or revocation is made. 11
Note-- 12
This section differs from section 72E of the Commonwealth Act.'. 13
Clause 25 Amendment of s 78 (Regulator may include dealings with 14
GMOs on GMO register) 15
Section 78(4), other than note-- 16
omit. 17
Clause 26 Amendment of s 82 (Simplified outline of pt 7) 18
Section 82(2) and (4), after `Licence conditions'-- 19
insert-- 20
`, or conditions to which an emergency dealing determination 21
is subject,'. 22
Clause 27 Amendment of s 83 (Application for certification) 23
Section 83, note, after `licence'-- 24
insert-- 25
`, or conditions to which an emergency dealing determination 26
is subject,'. 27
Clause 28 Amendment of s 89 (Regulator to notify of proposed 28
suspension, cancellation or variation) 29
Section 89-- 30
s 29 24 s 30
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
insert-- 1
`(7) This section does not apply to a variation of a licence if the 2
regulator is satisfied the variation is of minor significance or 3
complexity.'. 4
Clause 29 Insertion of new s 89A 5
After section 89-- 6
insert-- 7
`89A Transfer of certification 8
`(1) The holder of a certification and another person (the 9
transferee) may jointly apply to the regulator for the 10
certification to be transferred from the holder of the 11
certification to the transferee. 12
`(2) The application must be in writing, and must contain-- 13
(a) the information, if any, prescribed under a regulation; 14
and 15
(b) the information specified in writing by the regulator. 16
`(3) The regulator must not transfer the certification unless the 17
regulator is satisfied that, if the certification is transferred, any 18
conditions to which the certification is subject will continue to 19
be met. 20
`(4) The regulator must give written notice of his or her decision 21
on the application to the holder of the certification and the 22
transferee. 23
`(5) If the regulator decides to transfer the certification-- 24
(a) the transfer takes effect on the date stated in the notice; 25
and 26
(b) the certification continues in force; and 27
(c) the certification is subject to the same conditions as 28
those in force immediately before the transfer.'. 29
Clause 30 Amendment of s 91 (Application for accreditation) 30
Section 91, note-- 31
s 31 25 s 32
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
omit, insert-- 1
`Notes-- 2
1 The conditions of a licence may require supervision of dealings by 3
an institutional biosafety committee (see section 62(2)(m)), and a 4
regulation may require supervision of notifiable low risk dealings 5
by an institutional biosafety committee (see section 75(2)(c)). 6
2 The conditions to which an emergency dealing determination is 7
subject may require supervision of dealings by an institutional 8
biosafety committee (see section 72D(2)(t)).'. 9
Clause 31 Amendment of s 92 (Regulator may accredit 10
organisations) 11
(1) Section 92(2)(a), `, or proposes to establish,'-- 12
omit. 13
(2) Section 92(2)(b) and (c)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`(b) if the organisation has established an institutional 16
biosafety committee--whether the organisation will be 17
able to maintain the institutional biosafety committee in 18
accordance with the guidelines mentioned in paragraph 19
(a); 20
(c) if the organisation has established an institutional 21
biosafety committee--whether the organisation has 22
appropriate indemnity arrangements for its institutional 23
biosafety committee members; 24
(ca) if the organisation has not established an institutional 25
biosafety committee as mentioned in paragraph 26
(a)--whether the organisation will be in a position to 27
use an institutional biosafety committee established by 28
an accredited organisation;'. 29
Clause 32 Amendment of s 97 (Regulator to notify of proposed 30
suspension, cancellation or variation) 31
Section 97-- 32
insert-- 33
s 33 26 s 34
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
`(7) This section does not apply to a variation of an accreditation if 1
the regulator is satisfied the variation is of minor significance 2
or complexity.'. 3
Clause 33 Replacement of s 107 (Function of consultative 4
committee) 5
Section 107-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`107 Function of ethics and community committee 8
`The function of the ethics and community committee under 9
this Act is to provide advice, on the request of the regulator or 10
the Ministerial council, on the following-- 11
(a) ethical issues relating to gene technology; 12
(b) the need for, and content of, codes of practice in relation 13
to ethics for conducting dealings with GMOs; 14
(c) the need for, and content of, policy principles in relation 15
to dealings with GMOs that should not be conducted for 16
ethical reasons; 17
(d) the need for policy principles, policy guidelines, codes 18
of practice and technical and procedural guidelines in 19
relation to GMOs and GM products and the content of 20
the principles, guidelines and codes; 21
(e) community consultation in relation to the process for 22
applications for licences covering dealings involving the 23
intentional release of a GMO into the environment; 24
(f) risk communication matters in relation to dealings 25
involving the intentional release of a GMO into the 26
environment; 27
(g) matters of general concern identified by the regulator in 28
relation to applications made under this Act; 29
(h) matters of general concern in relation to GMOs.'. 30
Clause 34 Replacement of ss 110 and 110A and pt 8, div 4 31
Sections 110 and 110A and part 8, division 4-- 32
s 35 27 s 36
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
omit, insert-- 1
`110 Membership and procedures 2
`Note-- 3
Section 110 of the Commonwealth Act empowers the making of 4
regulations about the membership and procedures of the ethics and 5
community committee. 6
`111 Subcommittees 7
`Note-- 8
Section 111 of the Commonwealth Act deals with the establishment of 9
subcommittees by the ethics and community committee. 10
`112 Expert advisers 11
`Note-- 12
Section 112 of the Commonwealth Act provides for the appointment of 13
expert advisers to the ethics and community committee.'. 14
Clause 35 Amendment of s 136A (Quarterly reports) 15
Section 136A(2)-- 16
insert-- 17
`(ba) emergency dealing determinations made by the Minister 18
during the quarter; 19
(bb) any breaches of conditions of an emergency dealing 20
determination that have come to the regulator's attention 21
during the quarter;'. 22
Clause 36 Amendment of s 138 (Record of GMO and GM product 23
dealings) 24
Section 138-- 25
insert-- 26
`(1A) The GM record must contain the following information, other 27
than confidential commercial information, in relation to each 28
emergency dealing determination made under section 72B-- 29
s 37 28 s 38
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(a) the dealings stated in the emergency dealing 1
determination and the GMO to which the dealings 2
relate; 3
(b) any conditions to which the emergency dealing 4
determination is subject; 5
(c) the date on which the emergency dealing determination 6
takes effect; 7
(d) the date on which the emergency dealing determination 8
will cease to have effect.'. 9
Clause 37 Amendment of s 145 (Simplified outline of pt 10) 10
(1) Section 145(a)(ii), after `environment'-- 11
insert-- 12
`or for certain other reasons'. 13
(2) Section 145-- 14
insert-- 15
`(aa) enables the regulator to give directions to a person 16
permitted by an emergency dealing determination to 17
deal with a GMO if-- 18
(i) the regulator believes the person is not complying 19
with this Act; and 20
(ii) the regulator believes it is necessary to do so in 21
order to protect the health and safety of people or 22
to protect the environment or for certain other 23
reasons; and'. 24
Clause 38 Amendment of s 146 (Regulator may give directions) 25
(1) Section 146(1)(b)-- 26
omit, insert-- 27
`(b) either of the following applies-- 28
(i) it is necessary to exercise powers under this section 29
in order to protect the health and safety of people 30
or to protect the environment; 31
s 38 29 s 38
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(ii) it is desirable in the public interest, having regard 1
to the matters mentioned in subsection (2A), for 2
the regulator to exercise powers under this 3
section;'. 4
(2) Section 146(2)(a) and (b)-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`(a) 1 of the following kinds of persons is not complying 7
with this Act in relation to a thing-- 8
(i) a person covered by a GMO licence; 9
(ii) a person dealing with, or who has dealt with, a 10
GMO stated in an emergency dealing 11
determination; and 12
(b) either of the following applies-- 13
(i) it is necessary to exercise powers under this section 14
in order to protect the health and safety of people 15
or to protect the environment; 16
(ii) it is desirable in the public interest, having regard 17
to the matters mentioned in subsection (2A), for 18
the regulator to exercise powers under this 19
section;'. 20
(3) Section 146-- 21
insert-- 22
`(2A) For deciding under subsection (1)(b)(ii) or (2)(b)(ii) whether 23
it is desirable to exercise powers under this section to give 24
directions to a licence holder or another person, the regulator 25
must have regard to the following-- 26
(a) the types of dealings with GMOs authorised by the 27
licence or stated in the emergency dealing determination 28
concerned, and, in particular, whether the dealings are 29
ongoing; 30
(b) whether measures have been, or are being, taken to 31
address the noncompliance with this Act that the 32
regulator believes is occurring (the suspected 33
noncompliance); 34
(c) the likelihood of the licence holder or other person not 35
complying with this Act at a future time; 36
s 39 30 s 41
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(d) the severity of the suspected noncompliance; 1
(e) whether, on 1 or more occasions, the licence holder or 2
other person-- 3
(i) has been charged with or convicted of an offence 4
against this Act; or 5
(ii) has been given a direction under this section; 6
(f) other means available to the regulator to address the 7
suspected noncompliance, including, but not limited to, 8
by cancelling, varying or suspending a licence, 9
accreditation or certification; 10
(g) whether, in the regulator's opinion, the suspected 11
noncompliance was deliberate; 12
(h) the desirability of deterring future noncompliance with 13
this Act.'. 14
Clause 39 Amendment of s 149 (Simplified outline of pt 11) 15
Section 149(e), after `licence'-- 16
insert-- 17
`or an emergency dealing determination'. 18
Clause 40 Amendment of s 152 (Powers available to inspectors for 19
monitoring compliance) 20
Section 152(2)-- 21
insert-- 22
`(d) the occupier of the premises is a person dealing with, or 23
who has dealt with, a GMO stated in an emergency 24
dealing determination, and the entry is at a reasonable 25
time.'. 26
Clause 41 Amendment of s 177 (Part does not limit power to impose 27
licence conditions) 28
(1) Section 177, heading, `licence'-- 29
omit. 30
s 42 31 s 43
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(2) Section 177, `conditions.'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`conditions or the Minister's power to impose conditions on 3
an emergency dealing determination.'. 4
Clause 42 Amendment of s 182 (Deadlines for making reviewable 5
decisions) 6
(1) Section 182(a)-- 7
omit, insert-- 8
`(a) this Act provides for a person to make an application of 9
any kind to the regulator; and'. 10
(2) Section 182, `decision to reject the application'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`reviewable decision to reject the application, and the person 13
may seek internal review of the reviewable decision under 14
section 181'. 15
Clause 43 Amendment of s 185 (Regulator may declare that 16
information is confidential commercial information) 17
Section 185-- 18
insert-- 19
`(3B) If-- 20
(a) a person has made an application under section 184 for a 21
declaration that stated information is confidential 22
commercial information; and 23
(b) the regulator has not yet made a decision on the 24
application; 25
the information must be treated as confidential commercial 26
information until the regulator makes a decision on the 27
application.'. 28
s 44 32 s 46
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
Clause 44 Amendment of s 192A (Interference with dealings with 1
GMOs) 2
(1) Section 192A(2), definition authorised GMO dealings-- 3
insert-- 4
`(aa) stated in an emergency dealing determination and are 5
not prohibited from being undertaken at the premises or 6
facility by a condition of the determination; or'. 7
(2) Section 192A(2), definition authorised GMO dealings, 8
paragraph (d), before `included'-- 9
insert-- 10
`dealings'. 11
Clause 45 Replacement of s 194 (Review of operation of Act) 12
Section 194-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`194 Review of operation of Act 15
`(1) The Minister must cause a review of the operation of this Act 16
to be undertaken whenever a review of the Commonwealth 17
Act is undertaken under section 194 of the Commonwealth 18
Act. 19
`(2) The review of this Act must be undertaken-- 20
(a) as part of the review of the Commonwealth Act; or 21
(b) after the review of the Commonwealth Act.'. 22
Clause 46 Amendment of sch 1 (Reviewable decisions and eligible 23
persons) 24
(1) Schedule 1, before item 1-- 25
insert-- 26
`1A To refuse to consider an application the applicant'.
on the basis that the applicant is not a
suitable person to hold a licence
under section 43(2)(f)
s 47 33 s 47
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
(2) Schedule 1-- 1
insert-- 2
`3A To refuse to transfer a licence under an applicant for the
section 70 transfer
4A To refuse to vary a licence under the licence holder
section 71
7A To refuse to transfer a certification an applicant for the
under section 89A transfer'.
Clause 47 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary) 3
(1) Schedule 3, definitions consultative committee and ethics 4
committee-- 5
omit. 6
(2) Schedule 3-- 7
insert-- 8
`corresponding Commonwealth emergency dealing 9
determination, in relation to an emergency dealing 10
determination under this Act, means a determination under 11
section 72B of the Commonwealth Act that specifies the same 12
kind of dealings as those proposed to be stated in, or stated in, 13
the emergency dealing determination under this Act. 14
emergency dealing determination means a determination in 15
force under section 72B. 16
ethics and community committee means the Gene 17
Technology Ethics and Community Consultative Committee 18
established under the Commonwealth Act, section 106. 19
inadvertent dealings application means an application for a 20
GMO licence to which part 5, division 3 or 4 does not apply 21
because of the operation of section 46A or 49.'. 22
(3) Schedule 3, definition deal with, from `and includes'-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`(h) transport the GMO; 25
(i) dispose of the GMO; 26
s 47 34 s 47
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
and includes the possession, supply or use of the GMO for the 1
purposes of, or in the course of, a dealing mentioned in any of 2
paragraphs (a) to (i).'. 3
(4) Schedule 3, definition institutional biosafety committee, from 4
`by'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`as an institutional biosafety committee in accordance with 7
written guidelines issued by the regulator under section 98.'. 8
35
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
Schedule Minor amendments 1
section 2 2
1 Part 8, heading-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`Part 8 The gene technology technical 5
advisory committee and the 6
gene technology ethics and 7
community consultative 8
committee'. 9
2 Section 99(b) and (c)-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`(b) the gene technology ethics and community consultative 12
committee.'. 13
3 Part 8, division 3, heading, after `technology'-- 14
insert-- 15
`ethics and'. 16
4 Section 106, including note, `community consultative 17
committee'-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`ethics and community consultative committee'. 20
5 Sections 108 and 109, note, `consultative committee'-- 21
omit, insert-- 22
`ethics and community committee'. 23
36
Gene Technology Amendment Bill 2007
© State of Queensland 2007
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