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  6. Research Project Management
  7. Integrity and ethics
  8. Research Ethics & Integrity
  9. Animal Ethics
  10. Application Process

Application Process

AEC Approvals, Amendments and Reporting Requirements

Ethics approval must be obtained by the Chief Investigator on behalf of all those involved with animals on a particular project. The Chief Investigator must be a member of staff of the University or the ACT Wildlife Unit of Environment ACT or other Accredited Research Establishment for which the Committee acts as the nominated ethics committee.

Students

When a project involves a student proceeding to a higher degree, the Student's Supervisor must be listed as one of the Chief Investigators in the application. For a practical class involving the use of animals, the staff member responsible for that class is the Chief Investigator. The group of students participating in the class are identified by the Chief Investigator in the application to the AEC and are covered by the AEC approval. However, the responsibility for ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in that application rests solely with the Chief Investigator.

Training and Authorisation

The Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes (8th edition, 2013) requires institutions to provide adequate resources for appropriate education, training, and assessment of competence of investigators, and certification of such competence to the satisfaction of the AEC (2.1.8 (ii)).

Therefore, the University introduced a mandatory online training course for all staff and research students seeking authorisation to conduct experiments using animals. The course provides information and training in relation to Animal Ethics legislation and requirements.

All staff members and research students must undertake this course, complete an online test and achieve a grade of at least 18 out of 20 before they can submit an application to be authorised to work with animals. 

The Application Process

Applying for Ethics clearance is a two part process.

1. Researchers must be authorised to work with animals. To do this, they must apply for their authorisation to conduct experiments using animals (AEC Authorisation Form). The authorisation applictaion will have four categories to choose from. Please see the links to the authorisation application and the definition of each authorisation category below. All authorisation applications must be tabled at an AEC meeting. Please refer to the meeting dates to ensure that the application is submitted by the submission deadline for the corresponding meeting.

2. Secondly, the project itself needs to be approved by the AEC before it can commence. Please use the link below to access the online ethics portal to submit your animal ethics project application. All applications must be tabled at an AEC meeting. Please refer to the meeting dates to ensure that the application is submitted by the submission deadline for the corresponding meeting.

The Animal Ethics Committee can only approve applications for a maximum of three years. The approval is also subject to consideration and approval of an annual review at the end of the first and second years. At the end of the third year, a new application must be submitted if the project is to continue.

Amendments

Should researchers need to make changes to their approved applications, they will need to submit an amendment for approval by the AEC in accordance with Section 2.4.4 (iii) and Section 2.4.10 of the Code. All amendment requests must be submitted through the Ethics Online Portal. Please contact the Research Ethics & Integrity team with a request to unlock your form in the portal. Investigators cannot implement their proposed changes until written approval has been obtained from the AEC.

Email animalethicscommittee@canberra.edu.au to request access..

Reporting Requirements

The Animal Ethics Committee is required by authorities to monitor the conduct of approved research. It is, therefore, mandatory for researchers to submit review reports annually during the approval period.

Further Information

The Standard Operating Procedures for the Care and Use of Animals in Laboratory / Teaching and Field Research have been designed to assist applicants in preparing applications to be submitted to the Animal Ethics Committee.

The Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART) was established in 1987 in response to concerns in both the wider and the scientific communities about the use of animals in research and teaching.

ANZCCART is an independent body which has been developed to provide a national focus for these issues.

Further information on the issues surrounding the use of animals in experiments can be gained by visiting the ANZCCART web site.