(Last updated 22 April 2025)
National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research 2025
In mid-2025, the NHMRC released the 2025 version of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. In September 2025, the mandatory implementation date was deferred to early 2026; however, the exact date remains unconfirmed at this point in time.
Key changes include a revised Section 4 on ethical considerations specific to participants in research. A summary of the changes are available on the NHMRC website.
Researchers are encouraged to stay informed and check back regularly for further guidance and resources.
Mandatory Peer Review
As part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the quality of human research ethics applications, the Office for Research introduced a mandatory peer review process for all submissions on 1 September 2025.
The Human Ethics Peer Review Checklist and further details is available under Submission processes and reporting.
Local Authoriser Guidance
A new guidance document for Local Authorisers to support the review of ethics application submissions is now available under Submission processes and reporting. This provides clear advice on key considerations during review, delegation of the authorising role, and aims to improve the overall quality of applications submitted for ethical review. This advice was implemented in conjunction with the mandatory peer review process.
Local Authorises are encouraged to refer to this document each time they review an application for endorsement.
Additional resources for ethics applicants
A comprehensive Application Toolkit is currently being developed to support applicants throughout the ethics application and review process. The first resource in this toolkit is available under Application resources and guidance > Application development toolkit.
Additional resources are currently in development and will be released progressively as they are finalised.
Please contact the Ethics Office if you have any questions.