WA health system ethics reform

The WA Health system originally had eight HRECs and ethics administrative offices. These HRECs are being integrated into one HREC, the Central HREC, which is supported by the CORE.

The transition to the Central HREC has been ongoing since February 2024 with system-wide integration to be complete by mid-2025.

The transition is occurring in three phases:

Phase 1 – Completed in August 2024

• The establishment of the CORE to facilitate the triaging of research projects between existing HREC’s and to provide administrative support to the Central HREC.
• The redirection of new, more than low risk project applications intended for review by the WA Country Health Service (WACHS), North Metropolitan Area Mental Health Service (NMAMHS), and Women and Newborn Health Service (WNHS) HRECs to the existing WA Health HRECs which are certified to participate in the National Mutual Acceptance (NMA) scheme.
• The establishment of the Central HREC.

Phase 2 – Completed in December 2024

• The redirection of submissions to review new project applications to the Central HREC for review.
• The Department of Health (DoH), Royal Perth Hospital (RPH) and North Metropolitan Area Mental Health Service (NMAMHS) HRECs stopped accepting submissions of new applications in August 2024.
• In September, October and December 2024 respectively, the Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group (SCGOPHCG) HREC, the South Metropolitan Health Service (SMHS) HREC and the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) HREC stopped accepting submissions of new project applications that did not require review by an HREC certified to be a Lead HREC under the NMA scheme. Non-NMA submissions were redirected to the Central HREC for review. However, the SCGOPHCG, SMHS, and CAHS HRECs continue to accept submissions that require review by an NMA certified Lead HREC.

Phase 3 – Ongoing - commenced in October 2024

• Ongoing, ethical oversight of active research projects previously approved by the DoH (as a Lead HREC), NMAMHS, WNHS, WACHS, and RPH HRECs were transferred to the Central HREC [Commenced October 2024 and completed January 2025].
• Monitoring submissions (amendments, safety reports, annual progress reports and site and project final reports) for projects previously approved by the SCGOPHCG, SMHS and CAHS HRECs should continue to be submitted to these HRECs for review until you are advised otherwise.
• Submissions of all new project applications (including those requiring review by a Lead HREC under NMA) for ethical review are to be the responsibility of the Central HREC by mid-2025.
• Ongoing, ethical oversight of all active research projects previously approved by the WA Health HRECs based at the Health Service Providers (HSP) are to be transferred to the Central HREC by mid-2025.

Throughout the transition Health Service Providers (HSP’s) and the CORE will offer support to researchers as they navigate the research ethics process.

HSPs will continue to support the development of ethics applications prior to submission and the CORE will manage the submission and review processes as well as providing support for navigating the Research Governance Service (RGS).

Throughout the transition, the Health Service Providers (HSPs) and the CORE will offer support to researchers as they navigate the research ethics process.

HSPs will continue to support the development of ethics applications prior to submission and the CORE will manage the submission and review processes as well as providing support for navigating the Research Governance Service (RGS) and the ethical review process.

At each step of the reform, researchers will receive updates from the department via various channels.

Contact details for Active HRECs:

Effect on research ethics offices at Health Service Providers (HSPs)

The way each HSP Ethics Office approaches the opportunities this reform provides will be dependent on the specific needs of that HSP. As ethics administration is gradually transitioned to the CORE, existing HSP ethics offices have greater capacity to provide specialised researcher support with preparing ethics and governance submissions at their sites.

WA Health Central HREC committee meetings

In 2025 the WA Health Central HREC will hold six meetings every four weeks. Each four-week cycle will be comprised of four generalist meetings and two specialist meetings that focus on areas of research. Those specialist focuses being 1) large data sets and data linkage and 2) research involving Mothers and the foetus, Infants, Children, and Adolescents (MICA).

• A generalist meeting will be held once a week between February and December.
• The specialist meetings will each meet once every 4 weeks between February and December.

Please refer to the WA Health Central HREC website for the specific meeting dates for 2025.