{"id":"F2017L00478","name":"Territories Legislation (Plant Breeder’s Rights) Transitional Rules 2017","slug":"territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":439182,"registerId":"F2017L00478-fast-fetch-1775955293763","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Territories Legislation (Plant Breeder’s Rights) Transitional Rules 2017","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.jpeg)\n\n \n\nTerritories Legislation (Plant Breeder’s Rights) Transitional Rules 2017\n\nI, Fiona Nash, Minister for Local Government and Territories, make the following rules.\n\nDated 13 April 2017\n\nFiona Nash\n\nMinister for Local Government and Territories\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\n1 Name\n\n2 Commencement\n\n3 Authority\n\n4 Definitions\n\n5 Section 43 (registrable plant varieties)\n\n6 Section 53 (infringement of PBR)\n\n \n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Territories Legislation (Plant Breeder’s Rights) Transitional Rules 2017.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument 1 July 2017. 1 July 2017\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under item 5 of Schedule 5 to the Territories Legislation Amendment Act 2016.\n\n4  Definitions\n\n  In this instrument:\n\napplication has the same meaning as in the PBR Act.\n\ndependent plant variety has the same meaning as in the PBR Act.\n\nPBR has the same meaning as in the PBR Act.\n\nPBR Act means the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act 1994.\n\nplant variety has the same meaning as in the PBR Act.\n\nsection 11 act means an act referred to in a paragraph of section 11 of the PBR Act.\n\n5  Section 43 (registrable plant varieties)\n\n (1) This section applies to:\n\n (a) an application made before 1 July 2017 in relation to which a decision has not been made under section 44 of the PBR Act before 1 July 2017; and\n\n (b) an application made on or after 1 July 2017.\n\n (2) For the purposes of an application mentioned in subsection (1), the reference in paragraph 43(6)(a) of the PBR Act to Australia is taken always to have included Norfolk Island.\n\nNote: Australia (when used in a geographical sense) has included Norfolk Island since 1 July 2016—see section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901.\n\n6  Section 53 (infringement of PBR)\n\n (1) Despite subsection 53(1) of the PBR Act, PBR in a plant variety is not infringed by a person doing a section 11 act in respect of the variety or of a dependent plant variety if:\n\n (a) the PBR was granted before 1 July 2017; and\n\n (b) the person does the section 11 act:\n\n (i) on or after 1 July 2017; and\n\n (ii) only in Norfolk Island; and\n\n (c) the person had done a section 11 act, or taken definite steps (by contract or otherwise) to do a section 11 act, in respect of that variety or of a dependent plant variety:\n\n (i) between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017; and\n\n (ii) only in Norfolk Island.\n\n (2) The section 11 act mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) may be an act of the same or a different kind as the section 11 act mentioned in paragraph (1)(b).\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation maintains its original narrow purpose: managing the technical legal transition for Norfolk Island's integration into Australian plant breeding law. It has not expanded beyond this specific transitional fix."},"complexity_factors":["Extremely short instrument (6 sections, ~2 pages)","Only 5 defined terms, all referencing external legislation rather than creating new definitions","Minimal conditional logic — essentially two simple rules with straightforward date-based triggers","No nested exceptions or complex cross-referencing beyond basic references to the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994","Single purpose legislation with narrow temporal and geographical scope"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument smooths the legal transition when Norfolk Island was brought into Australia for plant breeder’s rights. It treats variety applications filed around 1 July 2017 as if Norfolk Island had always been Australian, and it grants a narrow grandfathering for people who were growing or using protected varieties on Norfolk Island between July 2016 and June 2017 — provided they stay on the island and do not expand their activities. It gives breeders, farmers and applicants legal certainty."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"This instrument extends the geographic application of certain PBR rules to include Norfolk Island for registrability purposes (s5(2)) and narrows infringement exposure by creating a limited non-infringement carve‑out for persons who had done or taken definite steps to do section 11 acts in Norfolk Island between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017, allowing continuation of those acts on or after 1 July 2017 but only within Norfolk Island and only where the PBR was granted before 1 July 2017 (s6(1))."},"complexity_factors":["Narrow, technical focus: only affects Norfolk Island and transitional period (s5(2); s6(1))","Multiple temporal conditions and chronological gates (applications before/after 1 July 2017; acts between 1 Jul 2016–30 Jun 2017; post-1 Jul 2017 continuation) (s5(1); s6(1)(b),(c))","Cross-references to the PBR Act and defined terms (application, plant variety, section 11 act, dependent plant variety) require familiarity with the PBR Act (definitions; s4)","Legal effect hinges on interpretation of phrases like “definite steps (by contract or otherwise)” and geographic restriction “only in Norfolk Island” (s6(1)(c),(b)(ii))","Limited number of provisions reduces systemic complexity but raises concentrated legal interpretation issues for affected parties (s5, s6)"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument treats Norfolk Island as part of “Australia” for Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBR) applications and creates a narrow transitional exception to PBR infringement. It lets people who, between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2017, did or contracted to do certain acts (section 11 acts) in Norfolk Island continue those same activities on or after 1 July 2017 — but only in Norfolk Island and only where the PBR was granted before 1 July 2017. It changes who can lawfully use protected varieties in that place and period."},"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"}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017","history":"/api/acts/territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/territories-legislation-plant-breeder-s-rights-transitional-rules-2017/documents"}}