Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 - SECT 8

The Scientific Advisory Committee

8. The Scientific Advisory Committee



(1) There is established by this Act a body to be called the Scientific
Advisory Committee.

(2) The following are the functions of the Committee-

   (a)  to advise the Minister on the listing of taxa or communities of flora
        and fauna and potentially threatening processes;

   (b)  to advise the Minister on any other flora and fauna conservation
        matters.

(3) The members of the Committee are-

   (a)  three senior government scientific officers appointed by the Minister;
        and

   (b)  two scientists on the staff of any of the Victorian education
        institutions, appointed by the Minister; and

   (c)  two scientists appointed by the Minister who are not employed by the
        Government.

(4) All members of the Committee must be knowledgeable and experienced in the
sciences of flora or fauna conservation or ecology.

(5) Each member of the Committee must have in the opinion of the Minister
expertise in one or more of the following categories and between them the
members of the Committee must have expertise in all the following categories-

   (a)  vertebrate fauna;

   (b)  invertebrate fauna;

   (c)  vascular flora;

   (d)  non-vascular flora;

   (e)  communities of flora or fauna;

   (f)  aquatic taxa or communities of flora or fauna in marine environments;

   (g)  aquatic taxa or communities of flora or fauna in inland aquatic
        environments;

   (h)  taxa or communities of flora or fauna in terrestrial environments;

        (i)    potentially threatening processes.

(6) Except as provided in subsections (7), (8) and (9) the provisions relating
to the membership and procedure of committees and councils set out in Schedule
2 to the Conservation, Forests and Lands Act 1987 apply to the Committee.

(7) The Convenor must not be a senior government scientific officer.





(8) If a Committee member has any interest which is likely to interfere with
that member's ability to perform his or her duties as a Committee member that
member must disclose that interest to the Committee.

(9) The Public Administration Act 2004 (other than Part 3 of that Act) applies
to a member of the Committee in respect of the office of member.