Lower risk research and Riverland Academy of Clinical Excellence

‘Lower risk research’ includes research where there is no risk of harm, and the foreseeable burden is no greater than discomfort, minor burden or inconvenience (National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2023)).

Project authorisation

Ethical review and governance (site specific assessment (SSA)) are two distinct processes. Approval of both is required before a project can begin. The Principal Investigator (PI) will be notified of approval via email from the Research Governance Officer (RGO). See the SA Health - Health and Medical Research website for more information.

Research ethics and governance applications for lower risk research projects must be submitted via the SA Health research governance and ethics management system (Research GEMS). If submitting to Central Adelaide Local Health Network (CALHN) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) please see specific requirements on their website. The GEMS login page provides user guides with step-by-step instructions on how to navigate the Research GEMS system.

Ethics

Please refer to instructions from the relevant HREC to confirm requirements (links below).

Additional approval from the South Australian Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee (AHREC) is required for all research applications where the focus is on a topic or disease/health burden identified as being of specific concern to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples. See the SA Health Research Ethics and Governance Policy for further details. Applications to AHREC are submitted directly to AHREC by email (i.e. outside of Research GEMS).

Governance

Governance submissions (SSAs) must be submitted via Research GEMS and are reviewed by the RGO on a rolling basis.

Lower risk research projects that are reviewed by a SA Health HREC outside of Research GEMS are to be submitted for governance in GEMS under the National Mutual Acceptance (NMA) Scheme.

Links  

Resources

Human Research Ethics Committees (HREC)