HREC Application Review

The level of ethical review of human research will depend on the potential risks the research may present to the participants, as described in the National Statement (Read Sections 5.1.6 – 8)

Low and Negligible Risk Research Review

Research that involves meets the criteria of low or negligible risk, may be reviewed by the HREC’s Executive, which consists of the Chair and one other member of the HREC.

For negligible and low risk executive review, we aim to have your application reviewed within 5-7 working days.

To help guide you determining the risk of your research please refer to the Human Research Ethics Risk Assessment.

Research Involving More Than Low Risk

Full HREC review is required for all human research that involves more than low risk to the participants, or research that raises certain other ethical issues, such as:

• Participant groups that require special consideration.
• Clinical trials.
• The use of human biospecimens.
• Genomic research.
• Animal-to-human xenotransplantation.
• People highly dependent on medical care who may not be able to give consent
• Pregnant women or the human foetus.
• People who may be involved in illegal activity.
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

For the review of research where the risk may be more than discomfort, we aim to have a response from the Committee within 10 working days after a meeting.

Acknowledgement of External HREC Approvals

In accordance with the National Statement, if you are a JCU staff member or students and have research approved by an external/non-JCU HREC, we can acknowledge the approval so that you don’t need to submit an application to the JCU HREC. JCU will not conduct another review of the research, we will only acknowledge that you have approval already.

To have an external approval acknowledged, the external HREC must be registered with the NHMRCand the person submitting the request will need to be listed as an investigator on the approval.

Complete the Cover Sheet External HREC Approvalsas well as your external HREC Application and supporting documents according to the HREC’s submission guidelines to ethics@jcu.edu.au

If your application has been reviewed and approved by an oversees review body, we may or may not be able to acknowledge that approval depending on where the approval was granted. Contact the ethics team to seek advice.

Exempt Research Review

If you feel your research meets the criteria and may be exempt from ethical review, contact the ethics team to confirm its exemption or submit a negligible risk application form for review.