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 (HREC's) should operate. The HREC's must consider compliance with these guidelines when reviewing research.

• National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans
• Human Research Ethics Handbook
• Values and Ethics—Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research (NHMRC 2004)
• Specific guidelines relating to assisted reproductive technology, cloning and organ donation can be found at NHMRC Human Ethical Issues

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 (pdf)
  • Detailed information is available from the NSW Commission for Children and Young People
• The NSW Department of Education and Training has procedures that must be followed when working in schools.
  • Guidelines for Approving Applications to Conduct Research in NSW Government Schools (pdf) and Addendum (doc)

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 (NHMRC 2004)
• 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).

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.

National and International Statements and Agreements

• Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee
  • Joint NHMRC/AV-CC Statement and Guidelines on Research Practice
• World Medical Association, Declaration of Helsinki (1996)
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Useful Links

• NHMRC Human Ethical Issues
  • Australian Health Ethics Committee
• NSW Department of Health
  • Shared Scientific Assessment Scheme (SSAS)
  • Evaluation of the SSAS
  • Health Ethics Branch
• World Health Organisation

Last reviewed: 3 August, 2007