Applying for human ethics approval

The University has a Human Ethics Committee (HEC) which reviews, approves and monitors research projects involving human participants, their data or tissue.

The Human Ethics Committee (HEC) is responsible for the assessment of human ethics applications. The committee ensures that human research proceeds in accordance with the Human Ethics Policy, promotes awareness of ethical issues related to human research, and provides guidance and support to researchers. For any inquiries, email the Research Office ethics team.

The application process

Use Hōkai to submit your ethics application. Your application will be reviewed by the University's Human Ethics Committee.

If your research includes areas of ethical risk, it will be reviewed as a Category A application and discussed at a face-to-face meeting of the committee. You should submit a Category A application in time for the deadline for the committee's meeting. If your research is low risk, it can proceed as a Category B application and will be reviewed between meetings. You can submit a Category B application at any point.

You will complete a self-assessment form when you begin your online application to indicate if your research is Category A or B. The Research Office will review the risk category after you submit it.

Timeframes

You must have confirmation of approval before you begin any formal research procedures, such as recruitment or data collection. The HEC does not award retrospective approval. Make sure you leave plenty of time to complete ethics requirements before the start of your research project.

After you submit, your application will be pre-reviewed by the Research Office to check that it is complete before being sent to the committee. This takes about five working days. Once your application is at an appropriate standard, it will be sent forward for review. If your application is heard at a meeting (Category A), you should receive the outcome from the committee within five working days after the meeting. If your application is assessed as a Category B, you should receive the outcome about ten working days after the application is sent for review. Timeframes can vary depending on the committee's workload. Particularly busy times of year include the start of the first trimester (March to May) and the end of the year (November and December).

Your application could be approved after committee review or you may be asked to revise the application and resubmit for approval. You should take this into account when planning the timeline of your research project.

    Preparing your application

    The Human Ethics Policy and Guidelines are the core documents that regulate what the Human Ethics Committee expects from applications for ethics approval. They may contain specific guidance that relates to your research project so check them carefully.

    Other useful University documents for preparing your application are:

    The below documents have not been prepared by Victoria University of Wellington but they may help you in constructing your application.

    Template documents

    The HEC has prepared templates which you can use to develop information and consent forms for your application. You should tailor these forms to your specific project—this means removing all the guidance notes and inserting the details of your research.

    If your research methods are not covered below, use the Information Sheet and Consent Form templates for Interviews and adapt it to your project.

    If you have different types of participants, such as teachers and students, then you should include documents tailored to each group. These should be written for that specific audience to provide appropriate and relevant information to potential participants.

    Deadlines

    The Human Ethics Committee (HEC) meet regularly throughout the year to consider applications. Category A applications (higher risk applications that require discussion at a committee meeting) are due by the deadlines below for discussion at that meeting. These deadlines do not apply to Category B applications which may be submitted at any time. Meetings are open to applicants and their supervisors by prior arrangement. Contact the Research Office ethics team to arrange this at human-ethics@vuw.ac.nz.

    2024 HEC meeting dates

    Deadline Meeting
    Tuesday, 23 July 2024Tuesday, 6 August 2024
    Thursday, 8 August 2024Thursday, 22 August 2024
    Tuesday, 27 August 2024Tuesday, 10 September 2024
    Thursday, 12 September 2024Thursday, 26 September 2024
    Tuesday, 24 September 2024Tuesday, 8 October 2024
    Thursday, 10 October 2024Thursday, 24 October 2024
    Tuesday, 22 October 2024Tuesday, 5 November 2024
    Thursday, 7 November 2024Thursday, 21 November 2024
    Tuesday, 12 November 2024*Tuesday, 3 December 2024

    * Note, due to the high volume of applications processed in November and December, the deadline for the final meeting of the year is three weeks prior to the meeting rather than two. If you submit after the deadline, your application may be included in the meeting, but this is not guaranteed.