Human Research Ethics

Important information on changes to forms and processes

Research ethics at JCU has been undertaking reviews of processes and documentation to assist researchers in applying for ethical review.

Changes to human ethics research forms and application guide

The human ethics application form and application guide (see 'Forms and Downloads') have been updated to guide and assist researchers in providing the information that the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) need to approve your application. This update provides guidance in each section, referring you to the appropriate section of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (National Statement). This will help facilitate the timely approval of your applications and make the approval process more efficient.

There are also revised forms for:

• Amendments
• Adverse Events
• Report Forms
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research

Given that many researchers will be in the middle of preparing forms, it will be fine to submit applications on the current application form up until 9th October 2020 but after this time, we intend to use the new version, so please ensure that when you are starting to write your application that you download the updated form from the JCU Connect human ethics webpage under 'Forms and Downloads'.

The human ethics team are here to assist with any queries in relation to the completion of the forms, so please feel free to contact us.

Reminders for progress reporting

The National Statement makes it mandatory for researchers to submit annual or final reports for projects. From September 2020, researchers will begin to receive reminders from JCU Connect human ethics team in relation to these reports. This will support researchers and JCU to meet the National Statement reporting requirements. Researchers will receive three reminder emails from the human ethics team; 2 months, 1 month and 2 weeks before the report is due.

Revised Chapters 4 and 5 of the National Statement

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is proposing to include new and revised chapters for dealing with Vulnerable People (Section 4) and for Governance (Section 5) of the National Statement, and the new chapters are open for consultation. Researchers can access the revised chapters and provide comment and feedback on the NHMRC consultation website. Consultation closes on the 30^th October 2020.