Human Ethics
About the Human Ethics Committee
The University requires investigators to conform to the Guidelines for Human Experimentation of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) under the terms of the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki, to which the Australian Government is a signatory. All projects involving human participants are to be conducted in conformity with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans (1999), relevant legislation and other relevant Guidelines.
This rule applies to all staff, undergraduate honours and postgraduate research, whether funded or not. It also applies to teaching projects or demonstrations that involve human participants. Note that the Guidelines refer not only to the physical and mental well-being of participants/subjects, but also to matters of confidentiality, privacy and consent.
The University has established a Committee to review the ethical aspects of procedures where humans participate as subjects in research and in teaching projects. This Committee, known as the Ethics Review Committee (Human Research), is directly responsible to the Vice-Chancellor. Before conducting any research investigation or teaching demonstration with human participants, staff and students of the University are required to submit for approval a project proposal, using the appropriate form.