Research Ethics

Human research conducted by students and staff of the University of Melbourne requires ethical approval. In 2020, Human Research Ethics Committees were restructured to bring together disciplines that use similar research methods. The combining of cognate disciplines is intended to enhance application reviews and enable workload sharing. To align with the National Statement, the committees are referred to as Greater-than-Low-Risk (GTLR), and Low-and-Negligible-Risk (LNR) committees. The committee reviewing your application will depend on the nature of the research project and the type of application required. More information about research ethics and integrity can be found on the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity (OREI) Human Ethics webpage.

Application process

Ethics applications are no longer processed within the School. Instead, they are submitted centrally through the new Infonetica ERM system. A step-by-step guide is available to give you more information about how to make an application, and the process of getting approved.

Document templates

The OREI Human Ethics team provides templates for your Plain Language Statement (PLS) and Consent Form on the Research Gateway. Some projects require a Debriefing Statement (generally, any project that involves participants from the Research Experience Program, or requires deception of any participants), and we encourage you to provide one for any project in which you are collecting data from human participants. You can download the School’s Debriefing Statement template here.

Key contacts

If you have a query related to human ethics, begin by checking the OREI Human Ethics webpage, including the step-by-step guide to applying for approval and a library of answers to frequently asked questions. General enquiries may be sent to the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity using the following link to a Service now request, and a member of the OREI team will be in contact with you.

Service now request form

Other key contacts

Human research ethics advisors

If you wish to discuss the ethical dimensions of your project, you can contact one of the School’s Human Research Ethics Advisors (HREAs). Their principal role is to conduct pre-submission reviews of applications submitted through Infonetica ERM, but you may also wish to consult with them if you require specific advice about how to address particular ethical aspects of your project in an application. In the first instance, you should contact one of the HREAs representing your Research Hub or Centre (or, if you are not aligned with a Hub, the HREA for the Hub most closely matching your project’s subject area). Please do not contact HREAs with general queries or technical support questions. For general advice, you should consult the OREI webpage or contact via Service now request form; and for technical support for Infonetica, you should submit a ServiceNow form or contact the Research Helpline on +61 3 8344 0999.

Research Hub or CentreHREAs
Brain and Mental Health Hub Dr Isabel Krug (with Dr Scott Griffiths)
Complex Human Data Hub Dr Adam Osth
Decision Science Hub Dr Natalia Egorova
Ethics and Wellbeing Hub Dr Khandis Blake (with Dr Scott Griffiths)
Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change Dr Scott Griffiths

Committee members

The School is represented by academic staff and HDR students across many of the LNR and GLTR committees. For queries regarding a specific committee, please contact the Research Ethics Officer (REO) assigned to support that committee (see Committee Membership).

CommitteeMemberRole
LNR 2D Dr Patrick Goodbourn Chair*
 Dr Johan Koskinen Member
LNR 3A Ms Maya Schenker Member
LNR 3B Dr Abi Brooker Member
 Dr Mirko Uljarevic Member
LNR 3C Dr Elise Kalokerinos Member
 Dr Trevor Steward Member
LNR 3D Ms Emmelyne Jack Member
 Dr Nicholas van Dam Member
LNR 4A Dr Litza Kiropoulos Chair†
  Ms Djamila Eliby Member
LNR 4B Dr Julian Simmons Member
LNR 4C Dr Miriam Mosing Member
LNR 4D A/Prof. Marta Garrido Member
GTLR STEMM 2 Dr Hinze Hogendoorn Researcher

*MSPS Chair of Ethics

†MSPS Deputy Chair of Ethics

Research experience program

The School has implemented Sona Systems for the Research Experience Program (REP). This means that participants can sign-up for projects on-line and researchers can organise their data collection session on-line as well. Read more about the REP here.