Human Research Ethics Links

National Guidelines

National Guidelines detail how research with human participants should be conducted to be “ethical” and how Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs) should operate. The HRECs must consider compliance with these guidelines when reviewing research.

Working with Children

In NSW all people in child-related employment, paid and unpaid, must complete a Prohibited Employment Declaration and lodge it with their employer. Students undertaking research on children or on placement working with children must also complete this form and lodge it with their Faculty Office.
- Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Declaration
- Detailed information is available from the NSW Commission for Children and Young People
The NSW Department of Education and Communities has procedures that must be followed when working in schools.
- Guidelines for Approving Applications to Conduct Research in NSW Government Schools
Form U, for use in conjunction with the DEC SERAP application form for all research conducted in NSW DEC schools. Please note that these forms should be submitted for HREC review instead of the standard application form. The SERAP application form must be completed online

Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities

National guidelines exist for health research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
- Values and Ethics—Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research
- The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) has produced internal guidelines for research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Communities. These guidelines are intended to assist researchers, they are not mandatory.
Other guidelines relating to medical research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities can be found here (PDF).
Ethics applications must also be submitted to the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council of NSW

Privacy

Human Research Ethics Committees must consider whether research proposals comply with national and state legislation regarding the handling of personal information. Any data which allows identification of an individual is “personal information”. In some instances the legal requirement to obtain access to information is approval by an HREC.

Federal legislation and guidelines relating to privacy and research

Office of the Federal Privacy Commissioner Australia
- Privacy Act 1988 (Federal)
- Medical Research—Guidelines under section 95 of the Privacy Act 1988 (pdf): These Guidelines apply to medical research involving personal information obtained by Commonwealth agencies.
- Medical Research—Guidelines approved under section 95A of the Privacy Act 1988 (pdf): These guidelines apply to health information that is collected, used or disclosed in the conduct of research and the compilation or analysis of statistics, relevant to public health or public safety, and in the conduct of health service management activities.
  Where the activity is to be conducted without consent from the individual concerned approval is required from a Human Research Ethics Committee.

NSW Government guidelines relating to privacy and research

Office of the NSW Privacy Commissioner
- Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW): The PPIP Act deals with how NSW public sector agencies manage personal information. Personal information refers to any information that relates to an identifiable person.
- Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (NSW): The HRIP Act governs the collection, storage, use and disclosure of health information in both the public and private sectors in NSW. This includes hospitals whether public or private, doctors, and other health care organisations. It also includes other organisations that have any type of health information. This can be as varied as a university that undertakes research, or a gymnasium that records information about a person's health and injuries.