(Last updated 20 February 2025)
Reduced staff capacity
The Ethics Office is a very small team and is currently operating at reduced staff capacity. Delays in processing and responses are expected. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. If you need to get in contact with a member of the team regarding Human Ethics, the HRE drop-in support session runs every Wednesday between 2 pm and 3 pm.
No booking is required, and sessions are one‑on‑one; simply drop in at any time during the hour and you will be admitted when next in line.
2025 of year closure period
The Ethics Office was closed between 15 December 2025 and 12 January 2026. In addition, the RISE system was unavailable to all users during a scheduled closure from 19 December 2026 to 12 January 2026 for system updates. End of year submission deadline for 2025 was 16 November 2025.
Please be aware: If you submitted or resubmitted an application between the 16 November 2025 and the 12 January 2026, please understand that the ethics review clock did not commence for that application until the office re-opened on 12 January 2026. Ethics review timelines are available on under Human ethics review process and timelines.
National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research 2025
The NHMRC has released a new 2025 version of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. The mandatory effective has now been extended to early 2026 (date to be confirmed). The human ethics application form is currently undergoing revision to align with revised guidance. The effective date for UniSQ will commence upon publication of the revised form (date to be confirmed).
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.