Why applicants might need a CCI declaration
We strongly recommend that applicants wishing to apply for a CCI declaration seek their own legal advice.
To assess the risks from a GMO, the Regulator requires information about the GMO and the proposed work. The applicant may want to keep some of that information private.
For example, a company might have a commercial advantage because they are using a novel gene sequence in their GMO. The company can ask the Regulator to protect this information by declaring it as CCI.
Information the Regulator can declare as CCI
While the Regulator must be transparent in decisions, they can protect commercially valuable data by declaring it as CCI.
The Regulator can declare information as CCI if it:
- is a trade secret
- may compromise commercial or other value if disclosed
- could unreasonably affect lawful commercial or financial affairs if disclosed.
Information not usually declared as CCI
The Regulator may refuse to declare information as CCI if the public interest outweighs any likely loss to the applicant requesting the CCI declaration.
They can only declare the locations of GM plant field trials as CCI when significant damage to people, environment or property is likely to occur.
The Regulator cannot usually declare information that is already publicly available (either for free or by paying a fee) as CCI.
Who can see CCI?
The Regulator and OGTR can only share CCI with the scientific experts and government agencies consulted during the decision-making process.
Apply for a CCI declaration
Apply for a CCI declaration
Apply for a declaration that specified information is confidential commercial information (CCI) under the Gene Technology Act 2000.