3 February 2020
HDEC Implementation of the new National Ethical Standards
The new NEAC National Ethical Standards for Health and Disability Research and Quality Improvement came into effect on December 19, 2019. Please visit https://neac.health.govt.nz/ for further information on these standards.
From December 19, 2019, all new HDEC applications, Provisional Approvals in progress and any HDEC Post Approval Forms will be assessed using these new standards. All current HDEC approvals remain valid.
As the HDEC system is continual and research is submitted/reviewed every week, there was not an opportunity to implement the Standards where in progress applications would not be impacted. The HDEC will work with the Ethics Secretariat and researchers to minimise any disruption or complications that may eventuate during the transition between the old and new standards and for any of the in-progress review applications.
The Ethics Secretariat acknowledges that the current HDEC application forms that are located on Online Forms is not yet aligned with the new standards. The Ethics Secretariat is currently working with the HDEC on a new suite of application forms as well as updating its IT infrastructure. The new forms will be introduced in July 2020. The Ethics Secretariat thanks you for your patience during this time.
For current research approved under the 2012 (or earlier) Ethical Guidelines for Observational Studies or the Ethical Guidelines for Intervention Studies researchers, must meet or exceed the new standards when undertaking health and disability research.
The coordinating Investigator has the overall responsibility of the ethics of their research and have the primary responsibility for identifying and addressing any ethical issues that may occur as a result of this change. If you determine that a substantial amendment is required, this should occur through the Post Approval Form Pathway.
If you have any questions on the HDEC implementation of the NEAC Ethical Standards, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Ethics Secretariat via email: hdecs@health.govt.nz
15 January 2020
HDEC Secretariat Availability for 20-24 January 2020
The HDEC Secretariat will have limited staff members on duty during the week of 20 to 24 January 2020.
On Monday 20 January the Ministry of Health's Wellington Office will be closed to observe Wellington Anniversary Day. From the 21 to 24 January all Ethics Secretariat staff will be going through a internal training program which may cause a delay in response times to both our 0800 number and the HDEC email service.
We apologise for any delays that you may experience during this time.