Apply for biological material permits and approvals
If you work with biological material – or in areas where it's used – you must follow all relevant legislation, standards, procedures and guidelines.
Read the Biosafety Policy for more information.
Before starting any work involving hazardous biological materials or potentially infectious microorganisms, you must get approval from the UQ Institutional Biosafety Subcommittee (IBSC) or a Biosafety Advisor.
The Working with Hazardous Biological Material Procedure outlines which materials require approval.
How to apply
Prepare your application
- Clearly describe the risks involved and how they will be managed.
- For new projects, speak early with a Biosafety Advisor or your safety manager to help you refine your application before submission.
Submit your application
- Follow the Working with Hazardous Biological Material Procedure and complete the required forms.
- Submit via the UQSafe Lab Activity application register (staff login required).
- For help, refer to the UQSafe application guide (PDF, 393.83 KB) or contact your local safety or compliance officer.
Assessment and approval
- Biosafety Advisors will review your application and provide feedback to help meet IBSC requirements.
- Biosafety Advisors also approve applications involving standard Risk Group 2 microorganisms and unscreened or diagnostic specimens.
Applications that don’t meet requirements by the submission deadline won’t be considered. Check the IBSC meeting dates and deadlines before submitting.
You must be authorised to work with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Find out how to obtain authorisation.
Before importing, exporting or transporting biological materials, ensure you have the necessary training and permits.
To collect and use native biological material from Queensland state land or waters, you must obtain a collection authority from the Queensland Government.
If you're accessing biological resources outside Queensland, you’ll need the appropriate authorisation under Australian regulations.
You must keep a copy of any approvals and give them to your School or Institute manager.
Prior to holding, transporting or working with prohibited or restricted biological matter as described in Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), you must have a restricted or prohibited matter permit from the Queensland Government. Details on the processes is available from the DPI website.
You should contact Biosafety:
- when you receive the permit to provide them a copy
- if you are contacted by the Department of Primary Industries Queensland (DPI) about your permit application or inspections related to an existing permit.
Restrictions also apply to the movement of certain plants, soil and related equipment throughout Queensland.
Ethics committee approval is required for all research involving human participants or animals. See:
- human ethics approval for research involving people, their data or tissue
- animal ethics approval for research involving some animals.