Part 1Preliminary

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title (1) This Act may be cited as the Gene Technology Act 2001. (2) This Act may also be referred to as— (a) the Gene Technology Law of South Australia; or (b) the Gene Technology Law. 3—Object of Act The object of this Act is to protect the health and safety of people, and to protect the environment, by identifying risks posed by or as a result of gene technology, and by managing those risks through regulating certain dealings with GMOs. 4—Regulatory framework to achieve object The object of this Act is to be achieved through a regulatory framework which— (aa) provides that where there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, a lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation; and (a) provides an efficient and effective system for the application of gene technologies; and (b) operates in conjunction with other Commonwealth and State regulatory schemes relevant to GMOs and GMO products. Examples of the schemes mentioned in paragraph (b) are those that regulate food, agricultural and veterinary chemicals, industrial chemicals and therapeutic goods or substances. 5—Nationally consistent scheme It is the intention of the Parliament that this Act form a component of a nationally consistent scheme for the regulation of certain dealings with GMOs by the Commonwealth and the States. 5A—Amendments to Act to maintain national consistency (a) the Parliament of the Commonwealth enacts an amendment to the Commonwealth Act (the Commonwealth amendment); and (b) the Governor is satisfied that an amendment that corresponds, or substantially corresponds, to the Commonwealth amendment should be made to this Act, the Governor may, by regulation, amend this Act to give effect to the Commonwealth amendment as a law of South Australia. (2) The Governor may, as part of any regulation made under subsection (1) in respect of a Commonwealth amendment, make any additional provision (including so as to modify the terms of the Commonwealth amendment or to provide for related or transitional matters) considered by the Governor to be necessary to ensure that the Commonwealth amendment has proper effect under the law of South Australia. (3) A regulation made under this section in respect of a Commonwealth amendment may, if the regulation so provides, take effect from the day of the commencement of the Commonwealth amendment (including a day that is earlier than the day of the regulation's publication in the Gazette). 6—Act to bind the Crown (1) This Act binds the Crown in right of South Australia and, so far as the legislative power of the Parliament permits, the Crown in all its other capacities. (2) Nothing in this Act renders the Crown liable to be prosecuted for an offence. 7—External Territories The Commonwealth Act includes a provision extending that Act to every external Territory other than Norfolk Island. 8—Offences The Commonwealth Act includes a provision applying Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to offences against that Act and construing penalty provisions in that Act. 8A—Numbering (1) In order to maintain consistent numbering between this Act and the Gene Technology Act 2000 of the Commonwealth— (a) if the Commonwealth Act contains a section that is not required in this Act, the provision number and heading to the section appearing in the Commonwealth Act are included in this Act despite the omission of the body of the section; and (b) if this Act contains a section that is not included in the Commonwealth Act, the section is numbered so as to maintain consistency in numbering between sections common to both Acts. (2) A provision number and heading referred to in subsection (1)(a) form part of this Act. 1 A note appears under each heading of a kind referred to in subsection (1)(a) describing the omitted section of the Commonwealth Act. 2 A note appears under each section of a kind referred to in subsection (1)(b) highlighting the non-appearance of an equivalent section in the Commonwealth Act.