Human Ethics Review

Mandatory Peer Review - Before you (or your supervisor) submit your application it must go through a process of peer review. Further information about this process and the peer review checklist are available under Submission processes and reporting.

Supervisor review (students only) - If you are a student, your application will need to be delegated to your supervisor for their review and comment (if needed) prior to submission. Once your supervisor is satisfied with your submission they will submit the application on your behalf - this confirms supervisor endorsement.

Local Authoriser review - Upon submission of all new HRE applications, the application will automatically delegated to the relevant Local Authoriser for review and endorsement before it is officially submitted to the Ethics Office. For the correct automated delegation, please ensure you have entered the correct School/Department/Centre into the ‘Host department’ question on the ‘Overview’ tab of your ethics application. Further information about the Local Authoriser endorsement process is located under, Submission processes and reporting.

If you are a student, you will need to factor in time for 3 checks - one for peer review, one by your supervisor, and one by the Local Authroriser. If your supervisor is expecting your application, they may be able to action this quickly for you. 

Upon initial submission of a new HRE application, please allow up to 7 University business days for the Local Authoriser review and endorsement process.

Once the Local Authoriser endorses your application, only then will then be submitted to the Ethics Office for Administrative review and risk evaluation. Note: an application is not officially submitted to the Ethics Office until it has been forwarded through by the local authoriser.

This review process involves ensuring the HRE application is sufficiently completed and ready for ethics review and to determine the appropriate ethics review pathway. 

The review aims to:

• Identify the risk level of your project, in accordance with Chapter 2.1 of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research.
• Check for missing information or potential issues that may delay progress, such as incomplete attachments, incorrect selections relating to participant groups, or other inconsistencies.

This early review helps applicants address key issues upfront, streamlining the process and reducing the likelihood of delays later on.

Once your application has been submitted to the Ethics Office (following HoS endorsement), please allow up to 15 University business days for this administrative review and risk evaluation to be conducted. You will be notified if you application requires further information before progressing to the next stage.

Research deemed to be of ‘minimal’ or ‘low’ risk, in accordance with the Chapter 2.1. of the National Statement, is reviewed via the expedited review pathway.

This review is conducted by at least two experienced reviewers, selected from a small pool of five members comprising the HREC Chair, Deputy Chairs, and Ethics Coordinators. Any feedback provided during this process is compiled by either an Ethics Coordinator or the HREC Chair, and then returned to the research team to address.

The expedited review pathway is an ongoing process that operates between February and November - Lower risk applications can be submitted to the Ethics Office at any time during the period of operation, they do not need to meet the HREC submission deadlines.

Please allow up to 35 University business days for the expedited review process to be completed and an outcome provided. Note: An outcome does not necessarily mean approval. Your application may require additional review rounds if changes are needed. If changes are required, your application will receive one of the following outcomes:

• Subject to modifications (modification review will be required)
• Not approved - resubmit permitted (another expedited review process is required)

In these cases, feedback will be returned to the research team. The feedback must be addressed and the revised application re-submitted to the Ethics Office for further review. Please allow up to 20 University business days for a modification review to be conducted.

Research that is deemed to be 'greater than low risk' or 'high risk' will be referred to the next available HREC meeting. Your application will be reviewed via the full HREC on the meeting day.

Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) meetings are held 10 times per year, between February and November.

Once your application has been referred to a meeting and that meeting has taken place, please allow up to 15 University business days, following the meeting date, for an outcome to be provided. Note: An outcome does not necessarily mean approval, and your application may require additional review rounds.

• If your application receives a ‘Subject to modifications’ outcome, your re-submission will be reviewed in-office by the HREC Chair to confirm that the committee’s feedback has been addressed, please allow up to 20 university business days for this process.

• If your application receives a ‘Not approved - resubmit permitted’ outcome, your revised application will need to be referred to the next available HREC meeting for full HREC review again.

If assessed as potentially exempt, the Ethics Office will review the application to ensure all details provided sufficiently meet the exemption criteria before formally granting exemption. This process is completed by one - two experienced people, selected from a small pool of five members comprising the HREC Chair, Deputy Chairs, and Ethics Coordinators. Any feedback provided during this process is compiled by either an Ethics Coordinator or the HREC Chair, and then returned to the research team to address.

Please allow 20 University business days for this process to occur. If necessary, changes to your application may be requested by the Ethics Office to ensure your project sufficiently meets the exemption criteria.