Ethical Review Board Guidelines, Policies & Tools

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Policies & Guides

Ethical Review Board Overview

Outlines our scope of work, structure, and function.

 

Ethical Review Board Terms of Reference

This is a living document, so please feel free to send feedback to the ERB Secretariat.

Ethical Review Board Assessment Guide

The ERB Assessment Guide will walk you through the steps to review a Huber Social project, outlining key ethical risks often present in social impact work.

 

Ethical Review Board Standard Operating Procedures

These are in draft form and structure according to NHMRC criteria for registered HRECs.

Huber Social Ethical Standards Policy

The ethical standards and principles that guide us in everything we do at Huber Social.

 

Guidelines

Below are a selection of guidelines that can be consulted to assist you with your ethical assessments.

National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2023

The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2023 is an essential Australian guideline outlining the ethical principles and standards for conducting human research in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992. It aims to ensure that research involving human participants is conducted with respect, integrity, and transparency, safeguarding their rights, welfare, and dignity. The statement emphasises informed consent, privacy, and risk minimisation, and it provides a framework for ethical review processes. Researchers, ethics committees, and institutions use this document to navigate ethical challenges, promoting trust and accountability in the research community.

The Guidelines can be found here.

Guidelines: The AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research

Updated in October 2020, the AIATSIS Code ensures that research with and about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples follows a process of meaningful engagement and reciprocity between the researcher and the individuals and/or communities involved in the research.

For any projects involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, these guidelines should be consulted during ethical review assessments.

The AIATSIS Code can be found here.

For more information about AIATSIS, click here.

NHMRC Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders

Developed by the NHMRC for application by registered HRECs and other ethics review bodies, the Guidelines defines six core values — spirit and integrity, cultural continuity, equity, reciprocity, respect, and responsibility — that should be applied along with other ethical principles to ensure that research conducted with or for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities, or their data or biological samples, is done so in a safe, respectful, responsible way.

For any projects involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, these guidelines should be consulted during ethical review assessments.

The Guidelines can be found here.

Guidelines: SRA Research Ethics Guidance

The UK’s Social Research Association (SRA) promotes excellence in social research. Rather than offering rigid rules, this resource illustrates ethical practices to which experienced and respected social researchers generally adhere.

Available online here.

Guidelines: Ethical Research Involving Children (ERIC)

A joint project between UNICEF’s Office of Research, Innocenti, the Childwatch International Research Network, the Centre for Children and Young People at Southern Cross University, Australia, and the Children’s Issues Centre at the University of Otago, New Zealand, the ERIC project guides researchers as they pursue and refine research approaches that respect the rights, dignity and wellbeing of children.

Browse their website and its wealth of resources here.

 

Case Studies

We’ve created some case studies that may help you think through some typical examples of potential ethical dilemmas present in social impact studies. Each case study will include a project briefing, a measurement plan, a survey question set, and an ethical review application.

Case Study #1 - No Place Like Home

This organisation’s mission is to end homelessness in rural Australia by 2030, and is looking to measure their program impact to date.

We will continue to grow this list so that we have a diverse range of examples for your ongoing reference.

General Ethics Case Studies

Below you’ll find external resources for ethics case studies. While many of these are based on non-social impact measurement projects, the thought exercises and new perspectives can still be useful when considering the ethics of your next assessment.

 

Huber Social Published Reports

Published measurement plans and reports that are shared with clients.

 

Induction Materials

Below you can find the meeting materials from our inaugural ERB induction in April 2021:

 

ERB Quarterly Updates

Recordings and slide decks from each ERB Quarterly Update meeting:

 

ERB Annual Meetings

Recordings and slide decks from each ERB Annual Meeting: