HREC Applications
There are two HREC application forms which can be completed and submitted to the HREC for review. The HREC encourages submissions to be made one month prior to its meeting dates.
1. Low and/or Negligible Risk Research (LNR)
The LNR application form should be completed for research where:
- The only foreseeable risk is one of discomfort
- There is no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort
- Any foreseeable risk is no more than an inconvenience
Examples of research with low and negligible risk are:
- Research involving only questionnaires and general surveys on non-controversial, non-personal issues that also include only basic demographic data and where, in all instances, respondents are not identified;
- Research involving only the use and/or disclosure of information from existing data collections, where the identity of the person cannot reasonably be ascertained from the information to be disclosed to researchers;
- Research involving human tissue where participant consent is not required because broad consent has been provided for use of the tissue in research and specific individuals cannot be identified from specimens used e.g. where specimens have never been labelled with individual identifiers or individual identifiers have been permanently removed; and
- Research requiring access to individual medical records or to information stored electronically, through the site’s medical records department or other department/specialty, but where participant consent is not required or where a waiver of consent requirement is being requested because, in all instances, individuals cannot be identified from data extracted or provided.
The LNR application form is available online for completion here.
2. Human Research Ethics Application (HREA)
If a study is not classified as an LNR, researchers will be required to complete the HREA.
Examples of research that will require an HREA application is provided on page 2 of the LNR application form (refer above).
The HREA is a concise online application form available at the website link below or https://hrea.gov.au/
As part of the HREA submission process you will be required to select the Organisation that hosts the HREC (or other ethics review body) for your application (ie RANZCO’s HREC).
Once all the HREA documentation is finalised within the HREA portal the resultant .omni and .zip files will need to be saved and provided to RANZCO as part of your RANZCO HREC application.
In completing your HREC application, please also complete and submit the HREC submission checklist.