Nominations are invited from suitably qualified persons for the 2020-23 membership of the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee (GTTAC). 

Nominations close 21 June 2019.
Gene Technology Technical Advisory CommitteeGTTAC is a statutory committee of up to 20 members established under the Gene Technology Act 2000 (the Act) to provide scientific and technical advice to support the national scheme for regulating genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Australia. A key function of GTTAC is to provide advice on applications and risk assessments for environmental release of GMOs, including GMOs for agricultural and medical purposes.

Further information on the current membership and work of the Committee can be found on the GTTAC webpage.
Who Should Nominate?Nominees should have recognised skills and experience relevant to gene technology and GMOs. Committee members including the Chair are appointed as individuals based on their expertise and not as representatives of a particular organisation.

All nominees should be able to prepare for and attend meetings consistently and contribute to the Committee’s work program as required. 

With a view to increasing female representation on committees, suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to nominate.
Nomination and Appointment processAppointments are made by the Minister responsible for gene technology and are normally for a period of three years. Current GTTAC terms expire in January 2020. To nominate for membership of GTTAC for 2020-2023, please refer to the ‘Information for GTTAC Nominees’ document and complete a Nomination Form using either the online Nomination Form or the Word template Nomination Form, both provided below.

Please note that the nomination, selection and appointment process involves consultation with States and Territories and is expected to take several months. 

Nominations must be submitted to the OGTR by: 21 June 2019

Further information can be obtained by contacting the OGTR on (free-call) 1800 181 030 or via email to ogtr@health.gov.au 

DOCX version of Information for GTTAC Nominees - DOCX 60 KB
PDF version of Information for GTTAC Nominees - PDF 223 KB

Online version of GTTAC Nomination Form 

DOCX verision of GTTAC Nomination Form - DOCX 70 KB
PDF version of GTTAC Nomination Form - PDF 266 KB

​To coincide with SRA’s new Strategic Plan, the Society is launching the Strategic Initiatives Fund. SRA members are invited to submit proposals for project grants up to $20,000 that will make a significant contribution to realizing the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan:

1. Enhancing risk science and the profession
2. Influencing and strengthening impact globally
3. Expanding the organizational capacity and efficiency of

SRA Submission deadline: May 1, 2019 To read the full Strategic Plan, click here. For more information on the Strategic Initiatives, visit our site. 

The 2019 SRA-Benelux Conference focuses on the theme: “Reasoning with Uncertainty.” Experts, practitioners and policy makers often have to make decisions under conditions of uncertainty. This sometimes leads to catastrophic outcomes, but often also results in averted disasters, innovation and unexpected discoveries. This conference, is devoted to how risk research(ers) can better inform decision-making in the face of uncertainty, anticipate negative outcomes, increase the propensity for positive outcomes, and better communicate uncertainty.
SRA-Benelux invites contributions that reflect on the conceptual and practical dimensions of uncertainty; uncertainty issues that have been neglected; new and innovative approaches to understanding and dealing with uncertainty; how policy makers, industry decision-makers, and practitioners can make better decisions under uncertainty; and uncertainty communication. Papers that address the following topical areas (in relation, but not limited to, Benelux countries) are especially welcome:
Papers that address the following topical areas (in relation, but not limited to, Benelux countries) are especially welcome:

• Systemic risks
• Brexit and future stability of the EU
• Climate change
• Health and safety
• Cybersecurity
• Artificial intelligence
• Smart cities and urban development

Abstracts can be submitted to Dr. Catherine Wong until December 1, 2018

Chemicals are an important part of modern life. From the soaps and toothpastes that we use in the morning, to those used at work and the manufacture of new products, and those used to manage agricultural pests. These chemicals all have hazards. It is important for the health of people and the environment that the risks from these hazards are managed properly. The panel presents a variety of how New Zealand’s regulators look at these risks from a range of perspectives, including importing or manufacturing a substance for the first time, managing chemicals safely at work, and residues on the food we eat. Are there also non-chemical alternatives that could be used?

Michael Berardozzi Importing and manufacturing pesticides
Team Leader, Hazardous Substances Applications, Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao

Lee Bailey Legacy pesticides still in New Zealand
Senior Advisor, Hazardous Substances Reassessments, Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao

Clark Ehlers Assessing the benefits and risks of releasing exotic organisms to manage invasive species in New Zealand
Senior Advisor, New Organisms, Environmental Protection Authority Te Mana Rauhī Taiao
 
Julian Jackson Cultural risk assessment tool for New Zealand
Senior Advisor, Kaupapa Kura Taiao, Te Mana Rauhī Taiao

The 2018 conference of the Society for Risk Analysis-Australia and New Zealand (SRA-ANZ) brings together multidisciplinary panels aimed at analysing risk from different perspectives, and invites professionals and scholars to engage in discussions on how to creatively and insightfully push the frontiers of risk research and risk management towards an increasingly complex future.

Learn more about the conference sessions and presenters here!
   
26th and 27th September  
ABS 1050 Abercrombie Building
Cnr Abercrombie and Codrington Streets
The University of Sydney Business School

REGISTER HERE

It's time to make plans to join SRA in New Orleans, LA, December 2-6, for the 2018 Annual Meeting.

Registration for the meeting is now open and we encourage you to register early to take advantage of early-bird pricing!

Interested in attending a full or half-day workshop on Sunday or Thursday? We have many workshops being offered for the first time this year, as well as favorites returning from years past.

Register before October 17 and use promo code SRA2018 to save 10% on workshop costs.

Interested in joining SRA's new mentorship program? The SRA Mentorship Program facilitates communication throughout the conference by linking those new to the field/profession with mid- and senior-level colleagues. Mentors advise emerging professionals (mentees) on getting the most value from the SRA Annual Meeting, introduce mentees to colleagues and discuss career goals. Mentees are encouraged to talk with mentors about challenges and opportunities in today's risk analysis landscape. Use the following links to enroll in the program: Mentors | Students/New Professionals.

As you make travel and lodging accommodations, we hope you are planning to join us through Wednesday afternoon to receive this year's event t-shirt. For your convenience, childcare services will be offered free of charge to meeting attendees on a first-come first-serve basis. Please use this form to enroll your child(ren).

For additional information, please see the 2018 Annual Meeting website.  

Dear SRA-ANZ Members,
There’s a fable that is said to have originated from the Indian subcontinent about some blind men and an elephant. There are many versions of the story, but the gist is pretty much the same. A group of men—blind from birth—heard that something called an ‘elephant’ had arrived in their town. Curious to know what an elephant was, they all reached out to touch it. One man reached out and happened to touch the trunk, and concluded that an elephant was some sort of snake. Another reached out and happened to touch one of the elephant’s legs, and concluded that it was some sort of tree. And finally, the last one reached out and happened to grasp the elephant’s tail, and concluded that an elephant was some kind of whip. A big argument ensued as to what an elephant actually was, with each of the men being partly right about its characteristics but also simultaneously completely wrong about its true nature.  
Risk analysis has flourished into a rich and diverse field, with analytical approaches increasingly growing in sophistication. As a community, we certainly have much to celebrate in terms of pushing the boundaries of the analysis and management of different types of risk. The strength of the field, however, is the hallmark of its weakness: while we have explored the vast diversity of risk, we have also contributed to its fragmentation.
Have we become the blind men who have been independently trying to understand what an elephant is? Have we developed strong convictions about what we know about particular risks, but failed to see the big picture? As we continue to deepen our understanding of different risks, are we depriving ourselves of the opportunity to truly grasp its nature?
In order to push the boundaries of risk analysis, we need to bring our different perspectives and areas of expertise together. This is the only way for us to gain important insights into the complex nature of risk, and to appreciate how our work builds on and enriches each other’s approaches.
It is in this spirit that SRA-ANZ is aiming to expand its membership base to include other areas of risk analysis that have not been traditionally well-represented in the Society. It is likewise in this spirit that this year’s conference on Risk Prisms at the University of Sydney Business School brings together multidisciplinary panels aimed at analysing the same risk from different perspectives (early bird registration is closing soon!).
We need to break down our disciplinary silos. We need to talk about the elephant in the room.
Sandra Seno-Alday, SRA-ANZ President

Let’s Talk Risk with the Society for Risk Analysis, the world’s leading authority on risk science and its applications, helps bring clarity to the world of risk, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

Episodes currently available for download include:
Ep. 1: The Uncertainty Component
Ep. 2: We've Been Underestimating Climate Change
Ep. 3: The Preservation of a Culture
Ep. 4: Clearing House at the EPA: An Attack on Science
Ep. 5: Infrastructure Management: Communities Can Profit From Disaster

Download from the iTunes store here.