How does the NHMRC ensure the research it funds is conducted in an ethical manner?
The Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) is a principal committee of NHMRC and was established under the NHMRC Act 1992. The Act sets out AHEC’s functions, which are to advise NHMRC on ethical issues relating to health and developing guidelines for the conduct of medical research involving humans. In addition, the Minister for Health and Ageing exercises powers under the Act to expand AHEC’s functions to include the promotion of community debate on health ethics issues, monitoring the work of human research ethics committees (HRECs) and monitoring and advising on international developments in health ethics. Each research application must obtain ethics clearances from the relevant institution(s) ethics committees before any NHMRC funds are released. Researchers must adhere to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) and the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes. Administering Institutions to which the funding i
