Ethics

According to the National Health and Medical Research Council’s National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated 2018), human participation in research is understood as that which includes the involvement of human beings, including through access to their information. Therefore, all research projects using health data require approval from an approved ethics committee.

The ethical approvals necessary to access data will vary and may depend on the specific data requested, or the type of research being conducted.

Department of Health WA Human Research Ethics Committee

The Department of Health WA Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) has responsibility for oversight of the use and disclosure of personal health information held in the Department of Health WA data collections.

The Department of Health WA HREC is registered with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), and is constituted in compliance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated 2018).

The Department of Health WA HREC website includes information on the ethical application process, as well as upcoming HREC meeting dates. For more information about the Department of Health WA HREC you can contact:

Executive Officer, Department of Health WA HREC
HREC@health.wa.gov.au
Phone: +61 8 9222 4278
Website: Department of Health HREC

Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee

Approval from the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (WAAHEC) is required when research projects involve research in, or in relation to, Western Australia, and the following applies:

  • The research is related to health and wellbeing; and
  • the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is an explicit focus of all or part of the research; or
  • data collection is explicitly directed at Aboriginal people; or
  • research outcomes explicitly related to Aboriginal people; or
  • it is proposed to conduct sub-group analyses and separately analyses Aboriginal people in the results; or
  • the information, potential over-representation in the dataset, or geographic location has an impact on one or more Aboriginal communities; or
  • Government Aboriginal health funds are a source of funding.

The WAAHEC is managed by the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia (AHCWA). For more information about AHCWA or the WAAHEC, please follow this link.