Human research activities cannot commence until human research ethics approval has been obtained and you have been notified by the HREO.
Commencing a human research activity without ethics approval may constitute research misconduct.
Retrospective ethics approvals cannot be provided, as this would contravene the requirements of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research.
A high quality ethics application package takes time and researchers are strongly urged to think ahead and allow themselves sufficient time to develop a well-designed research proposal and a well-documented ethics application that demonstrates thorough consideration of all relevant ethics issues, explained in plain language.
Typically you obtain approval to commence research in one of 3 ways:
Step 1 Assemble your application documents package
Assemble your application document package. This includes your application forms & supporting documents (eg. PIF, PCF, survey instruments, recruitment advertisements if applicable).
Step 2 Sign off by Head of School or Equivalent
Chief Investigator emails the application package to the Head of School (or equivalent), then forward to the Human Ethics office.
Step 3 Risk Assessment
Human Ethics office will assess the risk level of the application and allocate to a possible review pathways.
Step 4 Ethics Review Body will Review the Application
The HREC or RERC will review the ethics application, request changes if necessary, and then approve the application after they are satisfied with the changes.