Gene Technology Act 2000

The Minister is to appoint up to 12 members of the Ethics and Community Committee, and must appoint one of the members to chair the Ethics and Community Committee.

Before appointing a member of the Ethics and Community Committee, the Minister must consult the following:

the States;

the Regulator;

such scientific, consumer, health, environmental and industry groups as the Minister considers appropriate;

such other Ministers as the Minister considers appropriate.

The Minister must not appoint a person as a member of the Ethics and Community Committee (other than as a member mentioned in subsection (4)) unless the Minister is satisfied that the person has skills or experience of relevance to gene technology in relation to one or more of the following:

community consultation;

risk communication;

the impact of gene technology on the community;

issues relevant to businesses developing or using biotechnology;

issues relevant to gene technology research;

issues relevant to local government;

issues of concern to consumers;

law;

religious practices;

human health;

animal health and welfare;

primary production;

ethics;

environmental issues;

issues specified by the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph.

The Minister must ensure that the Ethics and Community Committee includes the following members:

a person who is a member of the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee;

a person who is a member of the Australian Health Ethics Committee.

The members of the Ethics and Community Committee hold office on a part‑time basis.

The Minister must not appoint a member to chair the Ethics and Community Committee unless a majority of jurisdictions agree to the appointment.