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The Australasian Human Research Ethics Consultancy Services (AHRECS) team brings extensive experience and expertise to support your research ethics needs. We have collaborated with research ethics committees, regulatory bodies, and professional organisations across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, ensuring compliance with international standards, including US OHRPP and ORI requirements.
Our team combines a deep theoretical understanding with a practical knowledge of regulatory frameworks. With over 20 years of collective experience, our senior consultants excel in implementing best practices in research ethics training, systems, and reforms. By partnering with AHRECS, you gain access to trusted advisors who can help you navigate complex requirements, enhance your systems, and ensure ethical excellence in your research practices.
Latest blog entries
Should we accept funding for facial recognition research, and other dilemmas?
Gary Allen, Mark Israel and Colin Thomson| PEER REVIEWED In the 1980s and 1990s, many research institutions made the principled and commendable decision not to accept funding from the tobacco industry. This reflected the recognition of the awful health impacts of tobacco use and the degree to which the industry was muddying the waters of…
Why human research ethics and research integrity aren’t fire blankets
Let’s start with fire safety. Used correctly, fire blankets (and other fire protection equipment) can manage a hazard and prevent increased harm. Institutions have a regulatory responsibility to make staff aware of standards by providing training in fire safety and correct behaviour. SYNERGY ONE While in Australia there is no human research ethics legislation, the…
A big bear trap on the horizon
Many Australian research bodies link to the National Statement. They do so through websites, policy documents, professional development material and other resources. This is logical and makes it easier for researchers and others to access the national policy/guidance material. Another reason to do this is that it makes it easier for researchers to see the…
Image library
Frequent visitors to the website of AHRECS will have noticed a change to the library of images we use across the site (e.g. the Resource Library and the Research Ethics Monthly). We did this to refresh our library of images at the same time as we updated nearly all sections of our website. We have…
Research Ethics: The Journal
We note that the journal, Research Ethics, is now Open Access. https://journals.sagepub.com/description/rea Research Ethics is aimed at all readers and authors interested in ethical issues in the conduct of research, the regulation of research, the procedures and process of ethical review as well as broader ethical issues related to research such as scientific integrity and the…
Heeding our stories: Getting the most from a reference group in disability research
Gary Allen, Carolyn Ehrlich, Michael Norwood, Delena Amsters and Maddy Slattery's post reflecting on great engagements with disability reference groups. Here, we aim to share insights from a group of Griffith University researchers and a consumer reference group, who worked together on a research project during the development of materials and methods, as well as…
The Tower of Babel and Human Research Ethics
Gary Allen and Mark Israel reflect on constructive approaches to languages in human research and for research ethics committees. Gary Allen and Mark Israel Much human research is conducted in languages that are not the same as that used by the research ethics review body or the chief investigators. This can manifest in a number…
Ethics CoPs not Ethics Police: Building communities of practice in ethics and integrity
In this post Gary Allen and Mark Israel discuss seeding and supporting virtual and physical Communities of Practice and their value over enforcement and policing. Gary Allen and Mark Israel Research ethics professionals have grown wary of researchers who talk disparagingly about the work of research ethics reviewers as the ‘ethics police’ (Klitzman, 2015; Makhoul…
Why university research ethics committees are vital
In this post Daniel Sokol writes about a troubling research integrity/human research ethics case that relates to Poland, the UK and Australia. Daniel Sokol When I sat on the Ministry of Defence’s Research Ethics Committee, some research projects were potentially dangerous. The risks of testing a new piece of military diving equipment, for example, are…
Tongue in Cheek
Farida Fozdar responds and reflects upon the February 2021 post by Gary Allen and Mark Israel. Farida Fozdar The Tower of Babel (Allen and Israel, 2021) is a compelling image when considering issues to do with translation and interpreting and the ethics of social research. Even when we speak the same language, we may not…
Nobody expects…
In this post, Dr Gary Allen reflects on the establishment and conduct of constructive audits. Dr Gary Allen When research with current ethics approval is periodically monitored,[1] it is typically a passive process. Institutions, often via their research ethics administration, will ask researchers to self-report on the continued ethical acceptability of a project (and compliance…
Element Zero: What’s missing from the National Statement to support Consumer and Community Involvement in health research?
In this great post, Mark, Deborah and Ciara discuss a useful new element for the National Statement that relates to genuine involvement, input and participation for consumers/community members. Mark Israel, Deborah Hersh and Ciara Shiggins Advocates in health research of Consumer and Community Involvement – a concept better known in the United Kingdom as Patient…
Areas of activity
We are delighted with how busy AHRECS is at the moment in the human research ethics and research integrity spheres in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Our current work can be broken down into four categories: 1. Informing the practice of a research institution 2. Fostering and supporting a community of practice…
Change Management Confidence versus mandatory reporting
In this post find out why Gary is cranky about the proposed good practice guide for Australian Research Integrity Advisers. #SPOILERALERT It is because he believes institutions need a network of collegiate Research Integrity Advisers to nurture and support a community of practice within their institution. He also thinks mandatory reporting and telling people to…
Research ethics reviews: responding to the challenges faced by international postgraduate students
In this great post, Mark Israel, Julia Miller, Liwen Tan and Kristy Davis discuss the extra challenges that confront international students when it comes to human research ethics and navigating research ethics review and the daunting challenge of satisfying an unsympathetic research ethics committee. This scary rite of passage is made even harder if your…
An ethics argument for data sharing
In this post, Gary Allen and Nik Zeps explore the human research ethics arguments and imperatives that only allow for the sharing of data, but establish a public good that can make sharing expected and essential. This expectation should shape the approach to consent, the framing of assurances given to potential participants about confidentiality and…
Internal Human Research Ethics annual reporting
In this post Gary discusses the components of a good internal report from a research ethics committee to the governing body of the host institution. Such reports should be produced annually. A constructive report should provide a snapshot of the committee during the reported period. The report should cover specific matters that are optional and…
Why resourcing practice is a better option for institutions than policing compliance
In this post, Dr Gary Allen (one of the senior consultants at AHRECS) discusses why resourcing reflective practice is a more reliable and effective/constructive way to manage institutional risk than fixating on compliance and using an enforcement and sanctions approach. Approaching the serious risks from within the frame of resourcing practice treats the role of…
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