Human Research Ethics

In Australia , research conducted in or by public institutions such as Universities and Government Departments that involves human participants must be approved by an accredited Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). People do not need to be physically involved to be considered participants; HREC approval is necessary for research ranging from examination of records containing personal information, to anonymous surveys and medical intervention.

The purpose of HRECs is to protect the welfare and rights of the participants in the research. A secondary aim is to facilitate research of benefit to the wider community. Information about why we have HRECs and how they operate can be found in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans .

The University of Wollongong and the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) have two shared HREC's:

the Health and Medical HREC
the Humanities, Social Science and Behavioural HREC

These HRECs review research:

Conducted by staff or students of the University
Involving staff or students of the University as participants
Conducted by staff of the ISLHD (Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District)
Involving staff or clients of the ISLHD (Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District)