Human Research Ethics Committee

We support ethical, high quality health and medical research at St John of God Health Care and are expanding our research endeavours as a strategic priority.

Our Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) is central to this effort.

HRECs review research proposals involving human participants to ensure they are ethically acceptable and meet relevant standards and guidelines.

Our HREC welcomes submissions from internal and external researchers and reviews both single site and multicentre research proposals.

Our committee reviews the full spectrum of human research including:

  • clinical trials of new medications, devices and clinical interventions
  • qualitative studies measuring patient satisfaction and quality of life
  • 'human quality improvement projects‘, focusing on improvements in clinical processes.

Research topics that we review cover multiple clinical disciplines – for example, oncology, orthopaedics, obstetrics, mental health, nursing, anaesthesia, cardiology, gastroenterology, palliative care, pathology and population health.

The St John of God Health Care Ethics Office offers comprehensive guidance to researchers during the development of their research plan and commits to a timely and efficient review of all applications.

Research submissions have significantly increased in recent years, reflecting the expanding research culture at St John of God Health Care and our growing reputation for research excellence.

Contact us today to discuss or submit your research proposal.

More about us

  • We are certified by the National Health and Medical Research Council as a Lead HREC in Australia and operate as a single, central HREC for St John of God Health Care.
  • You only need to apply once for your research to be reviewed by our committee if you are intending to undertake research across more than one of the hospitals or services provided by St John of God Health Care.
  • All research projects submitted to us must be developed in line with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Research Involving Humans.
  • Our committee adheres to the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia.
  • Find out more on submitting an application and the education and training opportunities that we offer.