{"id":"C2004A00764","name":"Gene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000","slug":"gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"171 of 2000","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":6124,"registerId":"commonwealth-C2004A00764-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-03-30","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Gene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nGene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000\n\n \n\nNo. 171, 2000\n\n![](image.001.png)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nGene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000\n\n \n\nNo. 171, 2000\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charges on licences issued under the Gene Technology Act 2000, and for related purposes\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Short title...................................\n\n2 Commencement...............................\n\n3 Definition...................................\n\n4 GMO licence—annual charge.......................\n\n5 Regulations..................................\n\n \n\n![](image.001.png)\n\nGene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000\n\nNo. 171, 2000\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nAn Act to impose charges on licences issued under the Gene Technology Act 2000, and for related purposes\n\n[Assented to 21 December 2000]\n\nThe Parliament of Australia enacts:\n\n1  Short title\n\n  This Act may be cited as the Gene Technology (Licence Charges) Act 2000.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n  This Act commences immediately after the commencement of section 55 of the Gene Technology Act 2000.\n\n3  Definition\n\n  In this Act:\n\nGMO licence means a GMO licence issued under the Gene Technology Act 2000.\n\n4  GMO licence—annual charge\n\n (1) A person who is the holder of a GMO licence at any time during a financial year is liable to pay a charge for the licence in respect of that year.\n\n (2) The amount of the charge for a financial year is such amount as is prescribed by the regulations.\n\n5  Regulations\n\n  The Governor‑General may make regulations prescribing matters:\n\n (a) required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed; or\n\n (b) necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n[Minister’s second reading speech made in—\n\nHouse of Representatives on 22 June 2000\n\nSenate on 30 August 2000]\n\n \n\n \n\n(105/00)\n\n \n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"This Act is narrowly focused and did not expand its scope beyond its original, stated purpose: to impose an annual charge on holders of GMO licences. The Act leaves substantive detail (fee levels, collection, exemptions, administration) to regulations, but that is a delegation of detail rather than an expansion of the Act’s statutory scope. There is no indication in the text that the purpose has grown beyond charging licence‑holders under the Gene Technology Act 2000."},"complexity_factors":["Very short Act: 5 sections only","Single defined term: \"GMO licence\" (section 3)","Key substantive detail (fee amount, exemptions, collection mechanics) delegated entirely to regulations (section 4(2), 5)","Simple conditional liability: holder at any time during a financial year (section 4(1))","Cross‑reference to the Gene Technology Act 2000 for licensing definitions and for commencement timing (section 2 and 3)","No embedded schedules, multiple exceptions, or layered conditional logic in the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does (mechanics)**\n\n- Imposes an annual charge on holders of GMO licences issued under the Gene Technology Act 2000. (See section 4.)\n- A person who holds a GMO licence at any time during a financial year must pay a charge for that year. (Section 4(1).)\n- The dollar amount of the charge is not set in the Act; it is to be specified by regulation. (Section 4(2).)\n- The Governor‑General may make regulations required or permitted by the Act, or necessary to give effect to it. (Section 5.)\n- The Act comes into effect immediately after the commencement of section 55 of the Gene Technology Act 2000. (Section 2.)\n- The Act defines “GMO licence” as a GMO licence issued under the Gene Technology Act 2000. (Section 3.)\n\n**Who it affects**\n\n- Directly: anyone who holds (or becomes a holder of) a GMO licence under the Gene Technology Act 2000 — they are the persons legally liable to pay the charge. (Section 4(1), 3.)\n- Indirectly: businesses and organisations that rely on GMO licences (research institutions, biotechnology firms, growers, contract manufacturers, etc.), because the charge is a running cost of holding a licence.\n\n**Who decides and how the amount is set**\n\n- The Act does not set fixed fees. The content and level of the annual charge are established by regulations made under the Act. (Section 4(2), 5.)\n- Regulations are made by the Governor‑General on the advice of the executive government; the Act’s power to make regulations is broad (includes anything necessary or convenient to give effect to the Act). (Section 5.)\n\n**Why it matters (effects, incentives and trade‑offs)**\n\n- Funding and incentives: the charge creates a recurring funding stream related to licensing activity. The revenue from the charge will be borne by licence holders; the Act itself does not specify what the revenue will be spent on. (Section 4.)\n- Cost allocation: licence holders face an additional compliance cost (an annual charge) which they may pass on in prices, absorb, or change behaviour to avoid (for example, modifying activity to avoid licensing or seeking alternatives). This affects private decision‑making about using GMOs.\n- Regulatory discretion and uncertainty: because the charge amount is set by regulation, its level can change without amending the Act. That creates regulatory flexibility but also price uncertainty for licence holders until regulations are announced.\n- Administrative burden: licence holders must track their licence status across financial years (the liability arises if they hold a licence at any time during the year). The regulator must implement billing and collection procedures; the Act itself does not set enforcement or penalty details for non‑payment (those will be in related legislation or regulations).\n- Concentration of costs and benefits: the charge concentrates costs on currently licensed operators; the benefits (additional funds or administrative cost recovery) accrue to the regulator or government program that receives the revenue. The Act does not allocate or ring‑fence proceeds.\n\n**Implementation notes and linkages**\n\n- The Act is short and relies on the Gene Technology Act 2000 for the licensing framework (definition of licences, licensing procedures, and likely enforcement), and on subordinate regulations for the fee design and detailed administration. (Sections 2, 3, 4(2), 5.)\n- Practical effects (size and distribution of the charge, exemptions, timing, collection method) will depend largely on the regulations made under section 5."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of imposing charges on GMO licences. The scope has not expanded beyond this narrow cost-recovery function."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short: only 5 sections spanning approximately 1 page","Only 1 defined term ('GMO licence')","No cross-references to other legislation beyond the basic reference to the Gene Technology Act 2000","No conditional logic, exceptions, or nested provisions","Simple operative structure: section 4 creates the liability, section 5 enables regulations to set the amount","No substantive procedural requirements or compliance mechanisms in the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"This law creates a system for charging fees to people or organisations who hold licences to work with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Australia.\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Imposes an annual charge** on anyone who holds a GMO licence under the main Gene Technology Act 2000\n- The exact dollar amount isn't set in this law — it's left to **regulations** (separate rules made by the government) to determine\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- Companies, research institutions, or individuals who have been granted a licence to deal with GMOs (such as for research, agriculture, or medicine)\n\n**Why it matters:**\n- This is essentially a **cost-recovery mechanism**. It ensures that those who benefit from using GMOs help pay for the regulatory system that oversees them — including the Gene Technology Regulator's office that monitors safety and compliance\n- Without this law, the government would have to fund GMO oversight entirely from general taxpayer revenue\n\n**Key point:** The law itself is just the framework saying \"you must pay\" — the actual fees are decided separately and can be adjusted over time without needing new legislation."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000","history":"/api/acts/gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000/history","analysis":"/api/acts/gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/gene-technology-licence-charges-act-2000/documents"}}