Genetic variation in plants is fundamental to food security. Biotechnology can speed up plant breeding and creation of that variation.

Genome editing techniques, including CRISPR/Cas9, modify DNA more accurately and cheaply compared to older biotechnology techniques such as genetic modification. However, development and uptake of genome editing techniques requires clear regulatory pathways. Those pathways are contested in most jurisdictions and the regulation of the resulting plants is becoming an increasingly sensitive subject-matter. In particular, the techniques are challenging regulatory frameworks intended to respond to genetically modified plants.

In Australia, regulatory reviews are being undertaken by Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the Gene Technology Regulator to determine the place of genome edited plants and their produce. These reviews may result in major shifts in Australia’s regulatory approach to agricultural biotechnology, including improved consistency between the two frameworks and operation on an output basis (focusing on resulting products) rather than an input basis (focusing on the process used to create products).

This paper examines Australian regulatory responses to genome edited plants and identifies challenges for regulators, the scientific community, and agricultural production and trade in light of them.