Role
To ensure the ethical standards outlined in the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans are met in all research projects approved by the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Human Research Ethics Committee. To ensure projects meet the three key principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, as set down in the National Statement.
The committee meets to consider:
- new project proposals;
- review annual and final reports on approved projects;
- consider any complaints that may have arisen regarding ethical issues in Institute research
Members of the Ethics Committee are appointed for three-year terms, with the option to renew for a further term.
Any complaints or reservations about the ethical conduct of research approved by the Ethics Committee, please call (02) 9975 8000 or email ethics@cerebralpalsy.org.au
Process to conduct research as an investigator
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00402) uses the following submission process:
Researchers may contact the Ethics Manager to discuss whether their project is methodologically sound; has appropriate supervision and whether the resources requested from Cerebral Palsy Alliance are available.
The Research Committee will assess the scientific rigour of the proposed study, whether it is methodologically sound and the feasibility to recruit through CPA, ensuring clients are not being over-researched by other projects.
The Ethics Committee assess whether studies are conducted using ethical principles including: respect for people; potential benefits versus harm; and justice.
The Board of Directors of Cerebral Palsy Alliance provides the final approval to ensure potential liabilities have appropriate risk management strategies in place.
All documents to be submitted as part of an ethics application must be listed in a summary table in the Cover letter to the Committee. Please ensure the filenames for all documents start with the project reference number (if known) and a numbering format, including version number and date, to indicate the order in which the files are to be collated for the Committee. All documents should be sumbitted in pdf format.
For example:
| Document | Version | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Filename: 1_Cover Letter_v1_date | V1 | Date |
| Filename: 2_Application_HREA_v1_date | V1 | Date |
| Filename: 3_Research Protocol_v1_date | V1 | Date |
| Filename: 4_Participant Information_v1_date | V1 | Date |
| Filename: 5_Questionnaire_v1_date | V1 | Date |
| Filename: 6_Gatekeeper Letter_v1_date | V1 | Date |
Research and Ethics Policy
This policy is designed to ensure that all research undertaken and supported by the organisation is ethical and in line with our research priorities.
Policy for: Cerebral Palsy Alliance Human Research Ethics Committee
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00402) is a registered National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) in NSW / ACT. The scope of the HREC to review ethics applications is limited within their registered status, i.e., not a lead HREC. The demographics of the potential participants and other details of proposed projects may preclude the Cerebral Palsy Alliance HREC from reviewing an application for ethics approval.
Please note: the focus of the HREC is to review applications that involve the recruitment of CPA Clients or CPA Staff as participants, and the involvement of CPA Sites and other CPA resources to conduct the project.
2019 Dates for Ethics Committee
All research applications and accompanying documents must be received by 5pm on the following submission deadline dates.
| Meeting date | Submission deadline | Expression of Interest Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May | 8 April | 18 March |
| 3 July | 10 June | 20 May |
| 7 August | 15 July | 24 June |
| 25 September | 9 September | 19 August |
| 4 December | 11 November | 21 October |
Applications
If your project has been approved by a lead HREC (eg university or hospital HREC), CPA will accept that approval and the application will only go to our Research/Governance committee. Required documentation includes a cover letter; an Expression of Interest to the Research/Governance Committee which details the proposed requirements from CPA Staff, CPA Clients or CPA Sites; Ethical approval letter from the lead HREC with all ethically approved documentation.
The Human Research Ethics Application (HREA) is a web-based tool that has been developed to assist researchers of all disciplines to complete research ethics proposals for submission to Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs), and to assist HRECs to consistently and efficiently assess these proposals.
New proposals which require both research and ethical approval will be submitted to both committees. Required documentation includes a cover letter; an Expression of Interest to the Research/Governance Committee which details the proposed requirements from CPA Staff, CPA Clients or CPA Sites; HREA; study protocol, particpant information sheets, consent form and any additonal documentation.
- CPA HREC flowchart
- Information about CPA Ethics Committee
- Information about CPA Research Committee
- Guidelines for the Preparation of an Information and Consent Form
- The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007)
- The Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2007
- NHMRC Policy on Research Misconduct