Welcome to the Human Research Ethics Office (HREO) at UWA

A focus on research of an international quality and the fostering of an outstanding research culture have positioned UWA as one of the best universities in Australia and in the top 150 in the world.

Human Ethics Resources

The Human Research Ethics Office (HREO) coordinates and manages a wide range of services for staff and student researchers undertaking research involving people as research participants.

Using the human research ethics web site
What you need to know about human research ethics
What do you want to do?
The Human Research Ethics Office (HREO)

UWA is committed to the highest standards of ethical practice in research involving or affecting people.

The ethical conduct of research involving humans is governed by a number of guidelines and by legislation. In particular, the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research embodies the key values, principles and guidelines for the design and conduct of human research.

The University, and its staff and student researchers, must comply with the principles and guidelines contained in the National Statement when designing and conducting human research.

In addition to ethics guidelines contained within the National Statement, information and guidance relating to research governance issues is provided in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research.

The human research ethics web pages are intended to assist researchers in addressing a wide range of requirements, including:

Information about human research ethics principles, guidelines, procedures and responsibilities.
Forms and procedures required to submit an application.

Using the human research ethics web site

The human research ethics web site is easy to use, but you will need to familiarise yourself with the information available and the structure of the web site.

The major content for each page is located in the wide centre column; however, the left-hand column contains the sites main menu and the right-hand column contains stamps and links that may also assist you.

Please take some time to acquaint yourself with the information and guidance available to assist you in obtaining ethics approval and/or managing your research project.

If, after exploring our web site, you still have questions, please contact the Human Research Ethics Office (HREO) using the link at the bottom of this page.

What you need to know about human research ethics

Research, like everyday life, often generates ethical dilemmas in which it may be impossible to find agreement on what is right or wrong. In such circumstances, it is important that all those involved in research and its review bring a heightened ethical awareness to their thinking and decision-making.

Ethical values and guidelines are not simply a set of rules: their application should not be undertaken simply to comply with a list of administrative requirements.

Ethically acceptable research should be developed through careful deliberation on its values and principles; the exercise of sound judgement; and an appreciation of context.

All staff and student researchers at UWA must be aware of, and must meet, their ethical responsibilities when designing, implementing and managing human research projects.

The HREO provides information on this web site to assist researchers in designing research projects that meet all ethics requirements.

A well designed, comprehensive package of ethics application documents explaining your project in plain language will usually result in ethics approval in the minimum time possible. Therefore, it is recommended that you carefully examine the web pages that explain what you need to know to develop a high quality ethics application.

Things you need to know Important information about the nature of human research and its ethical requirements can be found here. The left-hand menu list provides additional, comprehensive information.

What do you want to do?

Most researcher requirements for ethics approval, or for managing and reporting on a research project, are addressed in the following lists of options for "Obtaining ethics approval" or for "Managing your project".

The left-hand menu provides links to all information available on our human research ethics web pages; however, on most occasions, what you need to do is likely to be covered in the action lists below.

Please use these lists to identify the procedures you will need to follow and to access the required forms.