Proposed minor and technical amendments to the Gene Technology Regulations 2001

Overview

The Gene Technology Regulator (the Regulator) is consulting to seek the views of anyone likely to be affected by the proposed minor and technical amendments to the Gene Technology Regulations 2001 (the Regulations) described in the following pages. Feedback is specifically sought on whether the proposed minor and technical amendments described below would sufficiently improve clarity in the legislation, and on the impact the proposed amendments would have on regulated stakeholders.

This consultation is not seeking to identify additional aspects of the Regulations to amend. Concurrently, the Department of Health and Aged Care (the Department) is continuing to progress legislative changes to complete implementation of the Third Review of the Scheme[1]. A draft Gene Technology Amendment Bill was the subject of a recent consultation[2], and the Department will be consulting separately in due course on amending regulations. Policy changes should be pursued through the Department’s process, and the Regulator only proposes technical amendments to improve clarity and certainty in the legislation in the meantime.

The full text of the consultation can be found in the paper below. You can use this document to inform your consideration of the proposals before providing your submission through this platform.

What happens next

Submissions received through this consultation process will be taken into account by the Regulator in drafting and finalising the proposed amendments. A summary of submissions and general response to the issues raised will be published by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR).

The Regulator will provide advice to the Gene Technology Ministers’ Meeting regarding the finalised amendment proposals, as required by clause 40 of the Intergovernmental Gene Technology Agreement. If there is agreement, the OGTR would commence the Commonwealth regulation-making process. Throughout this process OGTR would keep regulated stakeholders up to date with any developments that might affect them, and post updates on the OGTR website.