Ethics and governance
It is a national and international requirement that all research involving humans needs to have approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). HRECs review proposals for research, monitor research conduct and deal with complaints that arise from research.
The HREC at The Children's Hospital at Westmead is accredited by NSW Health as a Lead HREC for Clinical Research. The Children’s Hospital at Westmead is currently the only paediatric hospital in the state to be accredited as a Lead HREC. The Hospital's HREC also has international accreditation in the US as an Institutional Review Board.
The Children's Hospital at Westmead HREC reviews hundreds of research projects each year, varying from basic laboratory studies to clinical drug and device trials, epidemiological and quantitative studies, gene-therapy research and qualitative studies.
Research projects submitted to the Hospital HREC undergo a rigorous review process. All projects are peer reviewed by experienced professionals at the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC; a sub-committee of the HREC) to examine the scientific validity. The membership of the SAC is designed to ensure thorough representation of expertise from a variety of health and research fields. As appropriate, projects are also concurrently reviewed by the Drug Committee, Radiation Safety Committee and Form Review Committee.
All projects then progress to the HREC, the membership of which is in accordance with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007). The HREC reviews recommendations from the other sub-committees and meticulously reviews projects in accordance with a variety of national and national guidelines to determine their ethical acceptability.
The governance role is involved in the oversight and management of research through implementing processes that ensure accountability, responsibility and transparency. This is achieved by requiring compliance with a broad range of legislation, regulations, and codes of good practice which safeguard the rights and safety of participants while protecting and promoting the integrity of research and investigators.
Research governance ensures that the necessary authorisations are secured and that the resources required to accommodate each research project have been negotiated and are available. This includes ensuring Clinical Trial Research Agreements are in place, including that the relevant insurance and indemnities are provided from study sponsors to the institution and investigators.
These processes are supported by the Research Ethics Manager, Research Governance Manager and Ethics Administration Assistant within the Kids Research Institute. This team is also available to provide advice on all research ethics and governance related matters.
Research Ethics Manager
+61 2 9845 3017
Research Governance Manager
+61 2 9845 3029-
+61 2 9845 1272
Ethics Administration Assistant
- +61 2 9845 1253
