Qualified Persons (QPs)

Categories of QPs

How to apply

List of QPs

Role of QPs in the PBR application process

Maintaining QP accreditation

Section 8 of the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act 1994 (the Act) establishes “Approved Persons”, who, on the basis of their qualifications and experience, are designated by the Registrar for the testing of one or more species of plant. To avoid confusion with approved persons in other legislation, the industry coined the term “Qualified Person” or QP.

The Act requires that each PBR application has a QP. This is a mandatory requirement. Their role is to verify the application; supervise the test growing; produce and submit the detailed description of the variety; and to provide other particulars necessary to meet the evidentiary threshold for PBR registration.

• QPs have some similarities to patent and trademark attorneys, however their focus is very much on the technical and botanical matters. A small number of attorneys have been accredited as QPs. Some breeders/applicants have also been accredited.  

Categories of QPs

There are two categories of QPs:

• Consultant QPs: they are accredited to act as consultants to PBR applicants or their agents. The consultant QPs offer their paid services to the applicant or their agents on a mutually agreed basis.
• Non-consultant QPs: they are accredited only to work on applications for which they are the breeder, owner or authorised agent or an employee of the breeder, owner or authorised agent.

How to apply

All prospective QPs must be legal residents of Australia or New Zealand and need to apply to IP Australia for accreditation before they can assist PBR applicants. The accreditation process involves a written application outlining their qualifications, experience and the names of three referees. As a minimum the application must contain the following information:

1. Full contact details including an email address
2. Current employment details
3. Qualifications
4. Relevant experience
5. Species or group of species for which accreditation is sought
6. The geographical area in which you are able to act as a QP
7. Three referees' contact details
8. Whether consultant or non-consultant status is being sought
9. The triennial accreditation fee ($240)

Each prospective new QP must complete an online Qualified Persons training suite provided by IP Australia. This aims to ensure that PBR grants are technically rigorous and legally sustainable.

List of QPs

The list of accredited QPs is published on the IP Australia website and in the Plant Varieties Journal.  Applicants or their agents can select consultant QPs from the list published in each issue of the Plant Varieties Journal or from the Qualified Persons Directory on the IP Australia website. 

Role of QPs in the PBR application process

QPs act as technical experts for the applicants or their agents. When submitting application(s) for one or more Plant Breeder's Rights, the applicants or their agents must nominate a QP for each application. This is done using the Nomination of a Qualified Person form.  The form helps to determine what functions the qualified person will perform in preparing the PBR application.  These include the following mandatory functions:

• Determination of the most similar varieties of common knowledge and the need to include the parental material in the trial.
• Completion of the PBR Part 2 application form.
• Certification of the Part 2 Application form.
• Providing a detailed description of the variety in the PBR approved format via the Interactive Variety Description System.

In addition to the above functions, the QPs may be involved in the following roles in agreement with the applicants or their agents:

• Completion of the PBR Part 1 application form.
• Planning the test growing trial.
• Recommending the most appropriate trial site for the varieties in the trial.
• Supervision of the layout and planting of the trial.
• Care and maintenance of the trial.
• Instruction to the applicant on the timing and nature of observations and measurements needed.
• Providing observations, data and statistical analysis of the DUS trial for the applicant.
• Providing a comparative digital image of the variety showing its distinct characteristics.
• Providing observations and measurements to comply with the approved DUS test guidelines.

The qualified persons must certify the completed PBR Part 2 Application form by submitting the Certification by the Qualified Person form, which outlines exactly which functions the qualified person undertook or supervised in relation to the application.  

Maintaining QP accreditation

As part of accreditation requirements, QPs must first complete an online Qualified Persons training suite to gain a broader understanding of their role in the PBR process. They are also required to pay a triennial Qualified Person accreditation fee. Invoices are sent out one month prior to the due date.