Institutional Biosafety Committee

All organisations that conduct genetic manipulation work are required to abide by the Gene Technology Act 2000, Gene Technology Regulations 2001 and the OGTR Guidelines and be Accredited by the Gene Technology Regulator. One aspect of compliance with accreditation is that an organisation will have access to a properly constituted Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC).

The University of Adelaide IBC consists of ten members each with specialist knowledge in a particular relevant field. The committee is chaired by Associate Professor Brian O'Neill. The IBC meets on a monthly basis.

The University's Institutional Biosafety Committee assists the University of Adelaide to comply with the relevant legislation and does this by:

• providing advice to staff and students about the Act, Regulations and Guidelines;
• determining appropriate policies, strategies and procedures;
• assessment and review of proposed genetic manipulation dealings including determination of containment levels for the work proposed and review of qualifications and experience of persons involved;
• ensuring that appropriate registers are maintained of all genetic manipulation dealings, genetically modified organisms, personnel working in certified facilities, personnel authorised to access certified facilities, personnel who have undertaken training, incidents;
• maintaining a list of certified facilities and carrying out annual inspections;
• providing an annual report to the OGTR and preparing other reports, submissions or correspondence as required;
• liaising with the OGTR regarding every aspect of accreditation, compliance and licensing;
• providing training for staff and students involved with genetic manipulation research and teaching.

Other accredited organisations access the University of Adelaide Institutional Biosafety Committee:

• SARDI
• SA Museum
• Australian Genome Research Facility Ltd (Adelaide Node)
• Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics
• vivoPharm Ltd

location: Research Branch, Level 7, 115 Grenfell Street
telephone: 8303 3239
facsimile: 8303 7325