62. The representative of Australia said that his delegation had actively participated in the negotiation of the Nagoya Protocol and welcomed the outcome. Referring to Bolivia's proposal of the patenting of life forms, he said that the current flexibilities under Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS Agreement were sufficient to allow Members to take the decision on the patentability of life forms in accordance with their national policies. He supported the intervention by Canada. As a mega-diverse country with a unique indigenous culture, Australia had a strong interest in equitable access to genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge. As a Party to the CBD, Australia shared the relevant CBD objectives. Australia's national experience indicated that effective benefit-sharing regimes could be implemented without making changes to patent systems. Australia's access and benefit-sharing systems was consistent with its obligations under the CBD. Under Australia's access and benefit-sharing systems, a permit was required to obtain access to biological resources for research into their genetic and bio-chemical properties. Streamlined permanent arrangements applied for non-commercial research. A benefit-sharing agreement was required before a permit for commercial research could be issued, and prior informed consent of indigenous owners was required when the genetic resources were on indigenous peoples' land. The benefit-sharing arrangement must include protection for and valuing of indigenous peoples' knowledge to be used. The Australian Government had developed a model benefit-sharing agreement, including suggested monetary and non-monetary benefits and addressing intellectual property ownership. All agreements to date had followed the model closely.
63. Finally, he said that his delegation was prepared to engage constructively in discussions in international forums. Nevertheless, it considered that the disclosure requirement merited further consideration in conjunction with other options. The Director-General's consultations on the TRIPS/CBD issue had been productive, but there were a range of central policy issues yet to be resolved. Many of those depended on the details lacking in the proposal contained in document TN/C/W52, including the nature and scope of the proposed disclosure requirement, which underlined the need for detailed technical consideration of all options taking into account the work in other forums.
