Part 6. Public Comments

Dealing with public comments

The Plant Breeder’s Rights scheme is administered consistent with the Plant Breeder’s Rights Act 1994 (the Act) that is, applicants are entitled to protection, provided the Registrar is satisfied that all the relevant criteria are met. The civil burden of proof is applied (i.e. ‘balance of probabilities’).

Occasionally the PBR Office receives public comments on applications. The Act provides for a formal objection process and comments whether written or verbal, are not considered as formal objections.

Where members of the public genuinely believe their commercial interests would be affected and that PBR for a proposed variety ought not to be granted, they are encouraged to use the Act's formal processes, e.g. lodging an objection.

Comments are informal information from the public to a governmental decision maker. The PBR Office will generally not engage in further communication with the commentator regarding their comment, although the comment may be valuable in alerting the PBR Office to an important matter of which it was previously unaware.