Level 16, Waterfront Place 1 Eagle Street Brisbane QLD 4000 Australia T +61 7 3338 7500 | F +61 7 3338 7599 Statutory Review of the Biodiscovery Act 2004 (Queensland) The Hon Leeanne Enoch MP Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy and Minister for Small Business The Hon Dr Steven Miles MP Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection and Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef 15 April 2016 Dear Ministers Review of the Biodiscovery Act 2004 (Qld) Thomson Geer is pleased to submit its report on the review of the Biodiscovery Act 2004 (Qld) ( the Act) to you. This Report details our analysis and recommendations arising out of the Terms of Reference together with the matters that were raised as part of submissions made to the review and face-to-face feedback sessions. The recommendations arising out of the Review are listed commencing at page 10 of this Report. We take this opportunity to thank those who participated in the process of the Review and now recommend the Report to you and your Ministerial colleagues. Yours sincerely Roberta Bozzoli Philip Byrnes Partner Partner T +61 7 3338 7547 T +61 7 3338 7501 M 0411 157 464 M 0419 464 030 E [email protected] E [email protected] Legal/44957280_4 Table of contents 1 List of acronyms and abbreviations ........................................................................ 2 2 Report ........................................................................................................................ 4 3 The 2009 Review ....................................................................................................... 5 3.1 Nature of the 2009 Review .............................................................................................5 3.2 Queensland Government Response to the Review of the Biodiscovery Act 2004 (Qld) ........................................................................................................................................6 4 Terms of Reference and other matters ................................................................... 7 4.1 Terms of Reference ........................................................................................................7 4.2 Written submissions ........................................................................................................8 4.3 Face-to-face feedback ....................................................................................................8 4.4 Summary of issues – Submissions and face-to-face feedback ......................................9 4.5 Matters considered by the Review .................................................................................9 4.6 Recommendations arising out of the Review .................................................................9 5 List of recommendations ....................................................................................... 10 5.1 Purpose of the Act (Term of Reference 1) ................................................................... 10 5.2 Operation of the Act (Terms of Reference 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) ........................................ 12 5.3 Regulatory Burden (Terms of Reference 7 and 8) ...................................................... 15 5.4 Interface with other systems (Term of Reference 9) ................................................... 15 5.5 Changes to the legislation (Term of Reference 10) ..................................................... 15 6 Biodiscovery Act 2004 (Qld) .................................................................................. 17 6.1 General ........................................................................................................................ 17 7 Purpose of the Act .................................................................................................. 18 7.1 Terms of Reference 1 .................................................................................................. 18 7.2 Purposes and objectives of the Act ............................................................................. 18 7.3 Regulatory framework .................................................................................................. 19 7.4 Is the current legislation the most efficient means to achieve the policy objectives? . 20 7.5 Nagoya Protocol .......................................................................................................... 22 7.6 Does the Act meet the requirements of the Nagoya Protocol? ................................... 34 7.7 Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy (ABCS) ............................................... 37 7.8 Native title law .............................................................................................................. 38 7.9 Indigenous Land Use Agreements .............................................................................. 39 7.10 Interaction of the NTA with the Act .............................................................................. 40 7.11 Indigenous knowledge and Intellectual Property Protection........................................ 40 7.12 Intellectual property Law .............................................................................................. 48 7.13 Gene Technology in Queensland ................................................................................ 48 7.14 Ownership of genetic resources .................................................................................. 49 8 Operation of the Act ............................................................................................... 54 8.1 Terms of Reference 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 ............................................................................ 54 8.2 TOR 2 - Examine the overall structure and effectiveness of the Act - the effectiveness of the key features of the regulatory framework and opportunities to streamline the processes to reduce regulatory burden ....................................................................... 54 8.3 TOR 3 - Examination of the structure and effectiveness of the permitting regime ...... 60 8.4 TOR 4 – Examination of the structure and effectiveness of Benefit Sharing Agreements ................................................................................................................. 66 8.5 TOR 5 – Examination of the definitions in the Act and the need for the definition of any other terms ................................................................................................................... 72 8.6 TOR 6 - Examination of powers of the Act to allow effective and appropriate enforcement of compliance with the Act ...................................................................... 81 9 Regulatory burden .................................................................................................. 85 9.1 Terms of Reference 7 and 8 ........................................................................................ 85 Statutor y Review of the Biodiscovery Act 2004 (Qld) Legal/44957280_4 Page ii 9.2 TOR 7 - Examination of costs of the Act are reasonable and justified compared with benefits of the Act ........................................................................................................ 85 9.3 TOR 8 – Review the system of approvals and application of regulatory requirements commensurate to the level of risk ................................................................................ 86 10 Interface with other systems ................................................................................. 87 10.1 Terms of Reference 9 .................................................................................................. 87 10.2 Feedback from stakeholders ....................................................................................... 87 10.3 Interface between the Commonwealth Regulations, NT Act and the Act ................... 87 11 Changes to the legislation ..................................................................................... 89 11.1 Term of Reference 10 .................................................................................................. 89 12 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 95 12.1 Articles, Books and Reports ........................................................................................ 95 12.2 Legislation .................................................................................................................... 96 12.3 Case Law ..................................................................................................................... 97 12.4 International Sources ................................................................................................... 97 12.5 Other sources .............................................................................................................. 98 Appendix 1 ....................................................................................................................... 100 Summary – Submissions and Face-to-Face Feedback ......................................................... 102 Appendix 2 ....................................................................................................................... 112 Comparison of the Act to the Commonwealth Regulations .................................................... 113 Appendix 3 ......................................................................................................................