Timeframes for Committee Review
All applications are triaged through a preliminary review process upon initial submission. Once your application meets the requirements for committee review we will place it in the queue in order of receipt.
We encourage applicants to plan ahead and submit their applications early to avoid having to adjust research plans. Due to the rolling number of applications for review we are no longer providing meeting deadlines and will allocate protocols to the earliest available meeting.
High Risk Application Review
The Human Research Ethics Committee assesses high risk applications. They meet on the last Friday of each month (except December). In order for your application to be tabled at one of the meetings listed, your application must clear preliminary review by the first day of that month.
To meet the requirements of preliminary review the ethics office will provide feedback on all submissions.
Meeting number | Preliminary reviewclearance date | Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 January | 30 January |
| 2 | 3 February | 27 February |
| 3 | 3 March | 27 March |
| 4 | 7 April | 24 April |
| 5 | 5 May | 29 May |
| 6 | 2 June | 26 June |
| 7 | 7 July | 31 July |
| 8 | 4 August | 28 August |
| 9 | 1 September | 25 September |
| 10 | 6 October | 30 October |
| 11 | 3 November | 27 November |
*Dates adjusted due to public holiday
Medium Risk Application Review
Medium risk applications are reviewed by one of four Delegated Ethical Review Committees (DERCs) which meet fortnightly:
College | Delegated Ethics Review Committee(DERC) |
|---|---|
College of Law, Governance and Policy College of Business and Economics | DERC 1 - CLGP/CBE |
| College of Systems and Society | DERC 2 - CSS |
College of Science & Medicine NCEPH | DERC 3 - CoSM and NCEPH |
College of Arts and Social Sciences College of Asia and the Pacific | CHM/CECC DERC |
2026 DERC Meeting schedule
Meeting Number | Meeting week |
| 1 | 12th January |
| 2 | 26th January |
| 3 | 9th February |
| 4 | 23rd February |
| 5 | 9th March |
| 6 | 23rd March |
| 7 | 6th April |
| 8 | 20th April |
| 9 | 4th May |
| 10 | 18th May |
| 11 | 1st June |
| 12 | 15th June |
Low Risk Application Review
Low risk applications or research projects which have already received prior approval from another NHMRC registered HREC are reviewed by the relevant DERC Chair out of session. They can be submitted at any time up until the 15th December of each year. From the 15th December, any new submissions will be considered in the new year.
Contact
- Enquiries relating to Human Ethics
- +61 2 6125 3427
- Send email