Plant Variety Journal - IP Australia

Overseas Testing/Data
Use of Overseas Data
The PBR Act allows DUS data produced in other countries (overseas data) be used in
lieu of conducting a comparative trial in Australia provided certain conditions are
met; relating to the filing of applications, sufficiency of the data and the likelihood
that the candidate variety will express the distinctive characteristic(s) in the same way
when grown locally. Briefly the overseas data could be considered where:
• The first PBR application relating to the candidate variety has been lodged
overseas, and
• the variety has previously been test grown in a UPOV member country using
official UPOV test guidelines and test procedures, (i.e. equivalent to a
comparative trial in Australia) and
• either, all the most similar varieties of common knowledge (including those in
Australia) have been included in the overseas DUS trial, or
• the new overseas variety is so clearly distinct from all the Australian varieties
of common knowledge that further DUS test growing is not warranted, and
• sufficient data and descriptive information is available to publish a description
of the variety in an accepted format in Plant Varieties Journal; and to satisfy
the requirements of the PBR Act.
Taxa that must be trailled in Australia
It is the policy of PBR office to not accept overseas data for the following taxa due to
the wide genotype by environment interactions that have been previously
experienced. Varietal descriptions from overseas trials have consistently been
different from those obtained from trials grown under Australian conditions.
Consequently, for the following taxon a full PBR trial must be conducted in Australia:
Solanum tuberosum Potato
The Qualified Person, in consultation with the agent/applicant, and perhaps other
specialists and taxonomists, will need to evaluate the overseas data, test report and
photographs to see if the application does fulfil all PBR Office requirements, and then
advise the agent/applicant:
• either, to submit Part 2 incorporating a description for publication, any
additional data and photographs and to pay the examination fee;
• or, to conduct a DUS trial in Australia, recommending to the applicant/agent
which additional varieties of common knowledge to include;
Page 7 of 550
Plant Varieties Journal Vol. 21 No.3