Ethical Review at the Cancer Institute NSW

Under the Cancer Institute NSW Act (2003), the Cancer Institute NSW is required to provide a system that facilitates expeditious ethical approval for multi-centre clinical trials and other cancer related research. The Board of the Cancer Institute NSW had is required to establish a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) to review cancer research.

Through Program 4.3 of the NSW Cancer Plan 2007-2010, the Cancer Institute NSW is committed to continue its initiative to streamline ethical and scientific review of multi-centre cancer research. The Cancer Institute NSW aims to achieve this through high quality single scientific and ethical review of multi-site cancer research in NSW, and to meet international benchmarks for quality and timeliness of review.

To meet these requirements, the Cancer Institute NSW has convened two (2) Human Research Ethics Committees that will review cancer research involving humans:

1. NSW Population & Health Services Research Ethics Committee
2. Cancer Institute NSW Clinical Research Ethics Committee

The Committees have been constituted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council’s “National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007)” and all relevant legislation and guidelines.

Both Committees have been accredited as lead Human Research Ethics Committees under NSW Health’s “Model for Single Ethical and Scientific Review of Multi-centre Research”.