Human research is governed by Australian law that establishes rights for participants and imposes general and specific responsibilities on researchers and institutions.
Institutions are responsible for establishing procedures for the ethical review of human research, and quality assurance and evaluation activities including case reports. That review can be undertaken at various levels, according to the degree of risk involved in the project/activity. At the Eye and Ear, research with a greater than lower level of risk must be reviewed by a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). Research involving no more than lower risk may be reviewed under other processes described in The National Statement. It is not always clear what is research versus what is quality assurance.
The Eye and Ear Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) is registered with the National Health and Medical Research Committee NHMRC and operates in compliance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2025). It meets six times per year to review and monitor research projects to ensure they conform to the requirements of the National Statement.
The Terms of Reference for the Eye and Ear HREC can be found here.
Contact Details
All correspondence and enquiries for the Human Research Ethics Committee should be forwarded to the Research Office at ethics@eyeandear.org.au
