Industrial Hemp Act 2015

Industrial Hemp Act 2015

This Act may be cited as the Industrial Hemp Act 2015.

This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

certified hemp seed means seed certified, in accordance with the regulations, as seed that will typically produce hemp plants with a concentration of THC in the leaves and flowering heads of not more than 0.5%;

corresponding law means a law of another Australian jurisdiction that is declared by the regulations to be a corresponding law for the purposes of this Act;

criminal history, in relation to a person, means any conviction of, and finding of guilt against, the person other than an annulled conviction, within the meaning of the Annulled Convictions Act 2003;

cultivate includes the following:plant a seed, seedling or cutting; graft, divide or transplant a plant; nurture, tend, grow or harvest a plant;

drug-related offence means an indictable offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 2001, the Poisons Act 1971 or the Criminal Code Act 1924 or under a corresponding law;

fit and proper, in relation to a person – see section 4A;

function includes power, authority and duty;

hemp means any plant of the genus Cannabis;

industrial hemp means any plant of the genus Cannabis that – has been grown from certified hemp seed; and has a concentration of THC in the leaves and flowering heads of not more than 1% – and includes the seed of any such plant and any product derived from any such plant;

industrial hemp licence means an industrial hemp licence issued in accordance with section 12;

inspector means – a person appointed to hold the office of inspector under section 22; or a police officer;

licence means an industrial hemp licence, or a special research licence, in force under this Act;

premises includes the following:a building or structure; land or a place (whether built on or not); a conveyance;

records includes plans, specifications, maps, reports, books and other documents whether in writing, in electronic form or otherwise;

regulations means regulations made under this Act;

responsible officer, in relation to a licence, means the person who is appointed as the responsible officer in relation to the licence under section 21A;

Secretary means the Secretary of the Department;

sell means sell by wholesale or retail and includes the following:agree to sell; offer or expose for sale; keep, or possess, for sale; deal in, barter or exchange; send, forward, deliver or receive for sale; authorise, direct, cause, permit, or suffer any of the things in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) to be done;

special research licence means a special research licence issued in accordance with section 14;

supply includes the following:deliver, sell, trade, give or distribute, whether for valuable consideration or not; offer or agree to supply; cause or permit to supply; hold in possession for the purpose of supply; produce or pack for the purpose of supply;

THC means delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol.

The Secretary may take into account the following matters when determining, for the purposes of this Act, if a natural person is a fit and proper person:any conviction of the person for an indictable offence; any civil penalty (however described) imposed upon the person under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; any revocation or suspension of a licence or permit (however described) held by the person under a law of the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or another country, being a law relating to the prohibition or regulation of drugs; the capacity of the person to comply with the conditions of the licence; the person’s history of compliance with this Act.

The Secretary may take into account the following matters when determining, for the purposes of this Act, if a body corporate is a fit and proper person:any conviction of the body corporate for an offence against a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; any civil penalty (however described) imposed upon the body corporate under a law of the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory; if there is such a conviction or imposition of a civil penalty upon the body corporate – whether the offence concerned was committed, or the conduct to which the civil penalty relates occurred, at a time when any person who is presently a director or officer of the body corporate was such a director or officer; and whether the offence concerned was committed, or the conduct to which the civil penalty relates occurred, at a time when any shareholder of the body corporate who is presently in a position to influence the management of the body corporate was such a shareholder; any revocation or suspension of a licence or permit (however described) held by the body corporate under a law of the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or another country, being a law relating to the prohibition or regulation of drugs; whether a person who is, or is to be, the responsible officer in relation to the licence is a fit and proper person; whether – each director of the body corporate is a fit and proper person; or more than 10% of the body corporate is owned by a person who is not a fit and proper person; the capacity of the body corporate to meet the conditions of the licence; the body corporate’s history of compliance with this Act.

Nothing in the Poisons Act 1971 affects any provision of this Act or renders unlawful anything done in accordance with any such provision.

The Minister or the Secretary may delegate any of his or her functions or powers under this Act, other than this power of delegation.

A delegation by the Minister or Secretary under this section – is to be by instrument in writing; and may be absolute or conditional; and does not derogate from the power of the Minister or Secretary, respectively, to act in any matter; and may be revoked by the Minister or Secretary, respectively.

A person may apply to the Secretary for an industrial hemp licence or a special research licence.

An application must – be in a form approved by the Secretary; and be accompanied by the prescribed fee; and contain such other information, and be accompanied by such other records, as the Secretary may require to determine the application.

On receipt of an application for a licence, the Secretary may carry out such investigations and inquiries as the Secretary considers necessary to determine the application.

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Secretary is to forward a copy of an application for a licence to the Commissioner of Police.

The Commissioner of Police is to inquire into, and report to the Secretary on, such matters concerning the application for a licence as the Secretary requests.

The Commissioner of Police is not required to disclose information under subsection (1B) to the extent that to do so would prejudice the prevention, investigation or prosecution of an offence.

The Secretary may, by notice in writing, require an applicant to – provide such information, and produce such records, as are relevant to the investigation of the application and specified in the notice; and provide the Secretary with such authorities and consents as the Secretary directs to enable the Secretary to obtain financial or other confidential information concerning the applicant from other persons.

If a requirement made under this section is not complied with, the Secretary may refuse to determine the application.

The Secretary must not grant a licence to an applicant unless satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person to be involved in the possession, cultivation or supply of hemp or industrial hemp.

The Secretary may refuse to grant a licence to a person if the person has been found guilty of a drug-related offence.

The Secretary may refuse to grant a licence to a person – if the person has been found guilty of an offence that, in the opinion of the Secretary, makes the person unsuitable to be involved in, the possession, cultivation or supply of hemp or industrial hemp under a licence; or on any other grounds that the Secretary considers appropriate.

The regulations may make further provision for the circumstances in which the Secretary may refuse, or is required to refuse, to grant a licence to a person.

The Secretary must take into account an applicant's criminal history.

Any costs incurred by the Secretary in investigating an applicant's criminal history under subsection (1) are to be paid by the applicant.