All research involving human participants conducted by staff and students of Navitas Professional Institute (ACAP, NCPS) must undergo ethical review by the HREC prior to commencement of the research.

Due to the volume of applications received, and the short time frame for HREC members to review applications, HREC document submission deadlines cannot be overridden. Applications received after the document deadline will be held over to the next HREC meeting.

Currently, approximately 15% of applications are approved as submitted. There are a number of factors which can prevent your ethics application from being approved on initial review. One of the most common factors being inexperience by the researcher in submitting ethics applications. Students submitting an ethics application must have the application reviewed by their supervisor prior to submission to the HREC. Supervisors will have experience in completing HREA and an understanding of what is required by the HREC.

Once your application has been reviewed, the minutes of the meeting are compiled for approval by the HREC Chair. The feedback from the meeting is then sent in a Notice of Outcome via email to the applicant and supervisor.

The Notice of Outcome will list the changes that need to be made or the additional information that is required. Where the Committee says ‘for noting’, this is not something that must be changed but should be acknowledged by the applicant.

On return of the revised HREA the application will then follow one of two courses of action as indicated on the ethics notice. These consist of the following:
1. Full review by HREC;
2. Review by Chair.

You will be notified of the outcome of your revised application within 7 business days of receipt by the HREC Secretary.

It is uncommon for an application to be rejected by the HREC. If the applicant disagrees with the feedback of the HREC the applicant will need to submit information in an email to the HREC Secretary addressing why the applicant disagrees with the feedback. This will be assessed by the HREC Chair for review and determination.

To request approval for changes to approved research or an extension of time, an email outlining the request/changes needs to be sent to the HREC Secretary. If there are any ethical implications that arise due to the change, this will need to be addressed in the email, and updated information sheets and consent forms submitted if necessary.

Yes. In accordance with Section 5.5.5 of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct on Human Research (2007), progress reports on approved research must be submitted at least annually.
The ethics approval notice will advise the date that you need to submit your progress report. Progress reports are to be emailed to the HREC Secretary and should be completed using the progress report template.