Research Services

Research Ethics and Integrity

Recombinant DNA Research

Gene Technology Act 2000 and Regulations 2001

The Commonwealth Gene Technology Act 2000 (the Act) took effect 21 June 2001 with the objective:

'to protect the health and safety of people, and the environment, by identifying risks posed by or as a result of gene technology, and by managing those risks through regulating certain dealings with genetically modified organisms (GMOs)'.

The Act defines gene technology as:

'any technique for the modification of genes or other genetic material, but does not include:

a. sexual reporduction; or

b. homologous recombination; or

c. any other technique specified in the regulations.'

The Act, in conjunction with the Gene Technology Regulations 2001 (the Regulations) and corresponding State and Territory legislation, comprises the nationally consistent legislative scheme regulating the use of live and viable GMOs in Australia.

• Gene Technology Act 2000 (PDF 877kb)
• Gene Technology Regulations 2001 (PDF 497KB)

The National Framework of Ethical Principles in Gene Technology 2012, prepared by the Gene Technology Ethics and Community Consultative Committee (GTECCC), provides guidance to accredited organisations, Institutional Biosafety Committees, individuals working with genetically modified organisms, and other ethics committees such as HRECs or AECs, when considering ethical issues in relation to gene technology and genetically modified organisms.

The GTECCC welcomes feedback on the revised framework and comments can be submitted to the GMSC Secretariat (gmsc@latrobe.edu.au) for submission to the OGTR Committee Secretariat.

The National Ethics Framework is a valuable resource for all those involved in the conduct or oversight of gene technology work.