- Home
- 1. Recent Changes
- 2. About this Manual, Quality, and Customer Engagement
- 2.1 Using This Manual
- 2.2 Customer Engagement, Quality Management and Timeliness
- 2.3 Procedures for Updating This Manual
- 3. PBR Process Maps
- 4. Part 1 - Application for PBR and Acceptance
- 4.1 Scope and Nature of Plant Breeder's Rights
- 4.2 Roles in a PBR Application
- 4.3 Form an application must take
- 4.4 Variety Denomination
- 4.5 Prior Sales
- 4.6 Priority
- 4.7 Acceptance or Rejection of PBR Application
- 4.7.1 Prima Facie Case for Breeding of the New Variety
- 4.7.2 Prima Facie Case for Distinctness of the New Variety
- 4.7.3 Breeding Process of the New Variety
- 4.8 Provisional Protection
- 5. Part 2 - Dealing With the Application After its Acceptance
- 5.1 DUS Test Growing in Australia
- 5.1.1 Centralised Testing Centres (CTC)
- 5.1.2 Pre-Examination Trial Agreement (PETA)
- 5.1.3 What to Expect During Field Examination
- 5.2 Overseas DUS Test Reports
- 5.3 Detailed Variety Description
- 5.3.1 IVDS Submissions
- 5.3.2 Further Period to Submit Detailed Description
- 5.3.3 Part 2 Forms and ACRA, GRC Submission
- 5.3.4 Ceasing of Provisional Protection
- 5.4 Public Comments
- 5.5 Withdrawals
- 5.6 Grant or Refusal
- 5.7 Revocation of PBR
- 5.8 Offer to Surrender
- 5.9 Expiry of Plant Breeder's Rights
- 6. Register of Plant Varieties
- 8. Qualified Persons (QPs)
- 9. Variations and Prescribed Fees
- 10. PBR System User Guides
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.