• Ethics & Biosafety
• Human Research Ethics
  • Committee & Dates
  • Application Approvals & Forms
  • Approved Applications & Reporting
  • Useful Links
• Animal Ethics
• Institutional Biosafety Committee
• Code of Conduct for Research

Human Research Ethics

Welcome to Victoria University's Human Research Ethics website.

This website is designed to assist research staff and students with matters pertaining to ethical issues related to research into humans. The website provides useful information in relation to applications, key dates, contacts, useful links and resources and provide an avenue for your feedback regarding VU's human research ethics application process.

Researchers are encouraged to browse through the website by selecting the options on the navigation bar left of the screen. To keep up-to-date with matters pertaining to Human Research Ethics, regularly visit the site.

Ethical Conduct

It is expected that all research involving or impacting on humans is performed in an ethical manner. Such conduct is guided by the following Principles of Human Research Ethics:

1. Research merit and integrity: research must be worthwhile, and have value to the community
2. Respect for human beings: individuals should be treated as autonomous agents and that persons with diminished autonomy are entitled to protection
3. Beneficence: the obligation to maximise possible benefits and minimise possible harms
4. Justice: addressing the resolution of the question of who ought to receive the benefits of research and bear its burdens.‘

Such principles help guide researchers to develop and conduct research in a way that is:

• Safe
• Respectful
• Responsible
• High quality
  

Ethical practice is also underpinned by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The current legislative basis of the Council is the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (the Act). The Council is responsible to the Commonwealth Minister for Health and Aged Care. The Act ascertains that the functions of the Australian Health Ethics Committee are:

• to advise the Council on ethical issues relating to health
• to develop and give the Council guidelines for the conduct of medical research involving humans
• such other functions as the Minister from time to time determines

The Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) is a principal committee of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). The Act sets out AHEC's functions, which are to advise NHMRC on ethical issues relating to health and developing guidelines for the conduct of medical research involving humans. AHEC's functions also includes the promotion of community debate on health ethics issues, the monitoring of human research ethics committees (HRECs) and the monitoring and advising of international developments in health ethics.

The Victoria University Human Research Ethics Committee

Victoria University is serviced by the Victoria University Human Research Ethics Committee and its faculty-based sub-committees. The HREC's are responsible for ensuring that resaerch projects involving humans adhere to ethical principles and that research projects conform to relevant legal requirements.