Biodiscovery Act 2004
LegislationReferenced in 3 bills
Environmental Protection (Great Barrier Reef Protection Measures) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
This bill strengthens protections for the Great Barrier Reef by toughening regulations on agricultural and industrial activities that contribute to poor water quality. It expands mandatory farming standards across all Reef catchments and introduces a national approach to classifying threatened species in Queensland.
Biodiscovery and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2019
This bill strengthens protections for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditional knowledge used in biodiscovery — the process of collecting native biological materials for scientific analysis and commercial purposes like pharmaceuticals and bioplastics. It requires researchers and companies to obtain consent and negotiate benefit sharing with First Nations custodians before using their knowledge, aligning Queensland with the international Nagoya Protocol.
Nature Conservation (Special Wildlife Reserves) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2018
This bill creates a new type of protected area called a 'special wildlife reserve' that lets private landholders permanently protect their land with the same legal standing as a national park. It also strengthens Great Barrier Reef regulation and streamlines how conservation agreements are handled when land tenure changes.