Intellectual property

Intellectual property is a valuable outcome of an innovative project and you must carefully consider its use. It is through the dissemination of intellectual property that the broadest community benefits can be realised. Therefore, while the Australian Government does not seek to own intellectual property developed through projects funded under this program, it does have an interest in how that intellectual property is used and may seek to impose conditions on its use.

Where your project is based on the adoption of technology, where there is little or no generation of intellectual property associated with the project, it will be requirement of the project that you disseminate any lessons learned to the wider food industry. Funds will be committed to this purpose. In this instance, it is the demonstration of the value of the technology, thus encouraging other participants in the food industry to take up the technology, that is the outcome sought by the Commonwealth.

Additionally, if you have partners in your project and we invite you to submit an application, the application must include a letter of understanding or an agreement setting out ownership and disposition of existing and proposed intellectual property rights associated with the project.

All collaborators must sign this letter.

Roles and responsibilities

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has ultimate responsibility for the program. The minister has responsibility for approving these guidelines and appointing the independent advisory panel. The minister has delegated decision-making powers to a senior departmental officer, the program decision-maker. The minister will announce all grants.

The program decision-maker is assisted by the independent advisory panel and the program secretariat. The panel will consist of industry experts with a range of expertise in food production and processing, marketing and retailing. A senior departmental officer, who may or may not be the program decision-maker, will represent the minister on the panel.

The program will be administered by a secretariat from the Food Programs Section of the Agricultural Productivity Division of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

The Program Manager will have specific responsibility for:

• the overall supervision of the program administration, including project assessment and management
• determining if project objectives have been met and whether repayment of funds is required
• approving Funding Agreement variations
• dispute management

Together, the program staff will be responsible for:

• communicating program requirements to stakeholders
• receiving expressions of interest and making recommendations to the program decision-maker on initial eligibility
• communicating assessment outcomes to the program decision-maker and the minister
• receiving and assessing applications for consistency with expressions-of-interest
• organising independent advisory panel meetings, ensuring adherence to conflict-of-interest requirements and providing secretariat services to the panel
• providing the outcomes of panel meetings to the program decision-maker
• communicating the program decision-maker’s decisions to applicants
• negotiating and finalising funding agreements
• administering individual grants, including reconciling expenditure
• making payments

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