Research Ethics

The Research Ethics Unit supports high-quality research by helping researchers to place ethics at the heart of the research process.

A culture of responsible conduct based on the principles of research integrity and ethics underpins all research at the University of Tasmania. Each of us contributes to this best practice culture.

Animal Research Ethics

Our Animal Research Ethics Committee (AEC) was established to oversee the care and use of animals in research and teaching at the University of Tasmania and is a licensed AEC with the Tasmanian government, Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE).

Human Research Ethics

Our Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) operates a state-wide service and reviews all research with or about humans, their data or tissue conducted by Tasmanian institutions, including research conducted at interstate University of Tasmania campuses.

Find out more at Human Research Ethics

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Ethics

Best practice in the design of research projects with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must respect and take into account additional values and cultural protocols.

Find out more at Aboriginal Research Ethics

General enquiries

Complaints and concerns

If you have concerns or complaints about the conduct of a study, or the functioning of the HREC or AEC, you can contact an Executive Officer via the contact details above.

The University encourages integrity in research by supporting research that is built on a commitment to honesty, respect, objectivity, accuracy and lawfulness.

Find out more at Research Integrity

Ethical Review Manager (ERM)

The University of Tasmania uses an online ethics application portal (ERM) for all ethics submissions.

Go to Ethics Review Manager

  • A secure web-based system that will manage ethics application life cycles for researchers, reviewers and approvers.
  • A system that tracks all submissions pertaining to a project in one place, removing the burden of manual tracking and e-mail traffic.
  • A system that offers questions that will direct the appropriate review pathway and only show questions that are relevant to the applicable area of research.
  • A central source of truth for all ethics projects.
  • A system that is scalable and can be used on any device.
  • If you are a University of Tasmania staff member or student, you will be able to use your current credentials to login to ERM at: ethics.utas.edu.au
  • If you are a non-University of Tasmania researcher (external), an account will need to be created for you. Please email your full name, your email address and your organisation to online.ethics@utas.edu.au
  • After you have received a notification that your account has been created, you can login to ERM at ethics.utas.edu.au

To login to ERM as a Committee Member (including Chairs and Executive Officers), please enter your current University of Tasmania credentials at: erm.utas.edu.au

If you cannot remember your University of Tasmania e-mail and/or password, please phone the Service Desk via +61 3 6226 2600 for support.

University of Tasmania ethics committee membership

Resources for current members

Become a member of an ethics committee

Expressions of interest are sought for membership to the University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) and the University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).

Members are required to attend 1-2 meetings per month of approximately 2 hours duration, plus allocate some time for preparation (reading and reviewing applications). Meetings are held via Zoom and members external to the University can choose to receive a small stipend for each meeting attended.

Please contact the Research Ethics Unit if you have any questions about becoming a member:

The University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) reviews research proposals involving human participants. The role of the HREC is to ensure research has merit and reflects the ethical values of justice, beneficence and respect for humans, and is in line with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023).

HREC Terms of Reference (PDF 259.9 KB)

The University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) oversees the care and use of animals in research and teaching at the University of Tasmania, and ensures all animal care and use is done in accordance with the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes.

AEC Terms of Reference (PDF 289.3 KB)