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Biodiscovery and business
Biodiscovery is the examination of native biological material, such as plants, animals, fungi, and micro-organisms, for commercial purposes. The native flora and fauna from our reefs, rainforests, savannas and wetlands provide the basis for a world-class biodiscovery industry that is already developing new bio-products such as medicines and natural pesticides.
Before collecting native biological material from State land or Queensland waters, you will need to obtain a biodiscovery collection authority and negotiate a contract (known as a benefit sharing agreement) with the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation. You will also need to seek agreement with traditional knowledge custodians before using traditional knowledge for biodiscovery.
This guide provides an overview of biodiscovery in Queensland. It will help you apply for a biodiscovery collection authority, negotiate a benefit-sharing agreement with the Queensland Government and meet the traditional knowledge obligation.
Biodiscovery in Queensland
About biodiscovery
Biodiscovery involves the collection and use of native biological material (e.g. plants, animals and other organisms) for commercial applications (e.g. pharmaceuticals and insecticides).
In Queensland, biodiscovery is regulated under the Biodiscovery Act 2004, which sets up a framework for obtaining consent to access resources and share the benefits of their use. The Biodiscovery in Queensland guideline provides information to help determine if an activity is considered biodiscovery.
Biodiversity in Queensland
Queensland is Australia's most naturally diverse state. It has 13 terrestrial and 14 marine bioregions supporting more than 1000 ecosystem types, including rainforests, savannas, rangelands, the dry tropics, wetlands and the coast.
Queensland has 70% of Australia's mammals, 80% of its native birds and more than 50% of its native reptiles, frogs and plant species. The state is also home to 5 world heritage listed areas including the Wet Tropics, the Great Barrier Reef and K'gari (Fraser Island) World Heritage Area – the largest sand island on earth.
Such biodiversity creates significant opportunities to explore beneficial uses of those plants and animals through biodiscovery. For example, 50% of the approved drugs in the past 30 years have been made either directly or indirectly from products found in nature.
Biodiscovery laws in Queensland
Queensland was the first jurisdiction in Australia to introduce best practice biodiscovery legislation for those undertaking biodiscovery activities. This permitting approach increases certainty and efficiency and promotes conservation and sustainable use of Queensland's native biological resources. This regulatory framework allows biodiscovery entities to demonstrate compliance with the legal requirements in Queensland and helps demonstrate alignment with international laws. Biodiscovery entities include universities, research institutions and commercial research organisations.
Biodiscovery Act 2004
Biodiscovery activities are regulated and defined under the Queensland Biodiscovery Act 2004, and are managed in a manner consistent with Australia's international obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The Biodiscovery Act 2004 aims to ensure biodiscovery activities in Queensland are sustainable, while returning a fair and equitable benefit to the community. This is achieved through the following requirements:
- For material collected from State land or Queensland waters – obtain a collection authority and negotiate a benefit sharing agreement with the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
- For biodiscovery using First Nations peoples' traditional knowledge – meet the traditional knowledge obligation by ensuring traditional knowledge is only used in biodiscovery under an agreement with the custodians of the knowledge. This obligation applies to biodiscovery commenced since September 2020, and in relation to native biological material collection from anywhere in Queensland.
Queensland Biotechnology Code of Ethics
Biodiscovery activities must comply with the Queensland Biotechnology Code of Ethics—an ethical framework to guide the development of biotechnology in Queensland.
Exemption for FAO Treaty plants
Biodiscovery using a plant listed in Annex 1 of The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the FAO Treaty) may be exempt from the Biodiscovery Act 2004. The exemption applies to the extent that the plant is taken or used for a food or agriculture purpose, and in a way that is consistent with the FAO Treaty.
If you are satisfied an exemption from the Biodiscovery Act 2004 applies, you can submit a statement of confirmation (DOCX, 821KB) to the department by emailing qldscience@qld.gov.au.
Other biodiscovery laws
Find out about legislative requirements for accessing biological resources of the Commonwealth and other states and territories.
Also consider...
- Read a range of biodiscovery resources, including the compliance code for taking native biological material, collection authority application forms, information sheets and guidelines.
Biodiscovery collection authority
To take and use small quantities of native biological material (living or dead plants, algae, animals and micro-organisms) from State land or Queensland waters for biodiscovery, you must first obtain an approved collection authority and benefit sharing agreement from the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
The holder of the collection authority and/or their agents may collect the native biological material from areas specified on the authority. To apply, you must complete a collection authority application form and submit it for assessment to the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.
The application will ask for details on your proposed collection of native biological material as well as an outline of the proposed commercialisation strategy.
Collecting from State land or Queensland waters
For a definition of State land, check the Biodiscovery Act 2004.
The Australian Marine Spatial Information System is an interactive map of the Australian maritime boundaries, which will help you locate appropriate state water boundaries. If you require further advice on these definitions, email qldscience@qld.gov.au.
Collecting from areas other than State land or Queensland waters
A collection authority is not required for the collection of native biological material from freehold land, or to scientific research for purposes other than biodiscovery. These activities will continue to be managed by other permit types (e.g. permits under the Nature Conservation Act 1992).
You may require additional authority to collect native biological material in locations that are under Commonwealth jurisdiction (such as areas of the Torres Strait, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area). This means that your collection may be subject to additional or alternative conditions to those imposed by the state.
Also consider...
- Email qldscience@qld.gov.au for more information about collection authorities or to organise a pre-application meeting.
- Contact the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for more information about collecting in the Great Barrier Reef.
- Read about accessing Australia's native biological resources for each state and territory.
Biodiscovery benefit sharing agreement
A benefit sharing agreement is an agreement between the Queensland Government ('the state') and the biodiscovery entity. Under this agreement, the state confers upon a biodiscovery entity the right to take and use native biological material (e.g. plants, animals, fungi, micro-organisms) from State land or Queensland waters for biodiscovery and specifies the benefits of biodiscovery which are to be returned to the state.
All benefit sharing agreements are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. However, the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation has developed a model benefit sharing agreement (DOCX, 102KB) as a starting point for negotiations and the Guideline for preparing a benefit sharing agreement, which contains information on the purpose and content of benefit sharing agreements.
A biodiscovery entity may also enter into a 'subsequent use agreement' with another biodiscovery entity who may be part of the research or commercialisation process. In this case a benefit sharing agreement must state the prescribed minimum terms that must be included in any subsequent use agreement entered into under the benefit sharing agreement.
The department administers benefit sharing agreements in Queensland. Biodiscovery cannot commence until a benefit sharing agreement is in place between the biodiscovery entity and the state.
The benefits of biodiscovery under the Biodiscovery Act 2004 include economic, environmental, and social benefits. A benefit sharing agreement formalises the nature of the benefits to be realised by the state and the way in which the state will receive them.
An approved collection authority is required prior to entering into a benefit sharing agreement—the Queensland Government will not enter into a benefit sharing agreement unless satisfied that the biodiscovery entity is compliant with the traditional knowledge obligation, if applicable.
Email qldscience@qld.gov.au for help developing a benefit sharing agreement or to organise a pre-application meeting.
Also consider...
- Find out about conducting biodiscovery activities in the Great Barrier Reef by contacting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority.
- Read about accessing Australia's native biological resources for each state and territory.
- Find out about your obligations when accessing traditional knowledge as part of your biodiscovery.
Traditional knowledge and biodiscovery
Reforms to the Act in September 2020 introduced protections for the use of traditional knowledge in biodiscovery, to improve the alignment with international standards such as the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing. The Nagoya Protocol requires that biodiscovery only be undertaken with the prior informed consent of Indigenous communities who hold traditional knowledge about the resources. It also requires that the benefits of biodiscovery are fairly and equitably shared.
The traditional knowledge obligation under the Biodiscovery Act 2004 requires that a biodiscovery entity takes all reasonable and practical measures to only use traditional knowledge in biodiscovery with the agreement of the custodian of the knowledge. In general, you must only use traditional knowledge with the free, prior and informed consent of custodians and mutual agreement on the terms of benefit sharing.
The traditional knowledge obligation applies to native biological material collected anywhere in Queensland. You are required to seek the custodians' agreement for use of their knowledge, even if the material you are collecting is not sourced from State land or Queensland waters.
An example of using traditional knowledge in biodiscovery could be learning about the traditional medicinal uses of a plant from First Nations peoples, then using that knowledge to conduct research with a view to produce an anti-inflammatory cream.
If you are using traditional knowledge and collecting material from State land, you must enter into an agreement with the custodians of the knowledge as well as obtain the necessary Queensland Government approvals.
The state will not be involved in agreements for the use of traditional knowledge—they will be between the biodiscovery entity and the custodian of the knowledge.
Traditional knowledge code of practice
On 27 August 2021, the Traditional knowledge code of practice (PDF, 1.8MB) (the code) commenced.
The code assists biodiscovery entities seeking to use traditional knowledge in biodiscovery to meet the traditional knowledge obligation under the Biodiscovery Act 2004.
The code describes the circumstances under which the traditional knowledge obligation applies and the minimum requirements for meeting the obligation. It includes practical steps for a biodiscovery entity to:
- identify the custodians of the traditional knowledge
- obtain consent from custodians to use this knowledge
- and
- establish benefit sharing agreements with custodians on mutually agreed terms.
You can meet the traditional knowledge obligation in another way, where an equivalent outcome to meeting the code is achieved.
Further information to support you to comply with the code is available through the Traditional knowledge guidelines (PDF, 734KB) and the Traditional knowledge guidelines – Using publicly accessible traditional knowledge (PDF, 8.8MB).
Read more about the traditional knowledge obligation, the code, and guidelines, as well as a strength and support toolkit (PDF, 1.9MB) to support collaboration between industry and First Nations peoples.
© The State of Queensland 1995–2024
- Last reviewed: 08 Sep 2021
- Last updated: 08 Sep 2021