Resources and contacts

Macquarie University templates:

• HREA project description or MQ Research Protocol (detailed)

• MQ PIS & CF template guidance, MQ Checklist for PIS & CF, CT:IQ templates: InFORMed Project template

• MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication) guide for FoRA users – Guide for applicants and HREC and Subcommittee members.

Applicant Guides for Forms for Research Applications (FoRA)

All applications must be submitted via Forms for Research Applications (FoRA). For more information about this system, what form to use, how to submit an application refer to the following FoRA user guides:

HREA:  Human Research Ethics Applications (HREA) Applicant Guide

EAEF: Externally Approved Applications (EAEF) Applicant Guide

RISK ASSESSMENT:  HREA Risk Assessment (RA) Applicant Guide (RA guide includes links to the HREA and DMP guides)

DMP:  HREA Integrated Data Management Plan (DMP) Applicant Guide

Macquarie University policies can be found at Policy Central, some examples provided below:

• Human Ethics Policy
• Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research
• Data Management Procedure
• Travel Policy

NSW legislation:

• Anatomy Act 1977
• Human Tissue Act 1983
• Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 No. 133
• Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998
• State Records Act 1998
• Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002

Australia and international:

• Privacy Act 1988
  • Guidelines under Section 95 of the Privacy Act
  • Guidelines Approved under Section 95A of the Privacy Act
• EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) research implications

Guidelines

• NHMRC: PAYMENT of PARTICIPANTS in research
• National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research
• Australian Code for the Conduct of Responsible Research
• Macquarie University Systems and Data Management Guidelines
• Challenging Ethical Issues in Contemporary Research on Human Beings
• Australian Electoral Commission Supply of Elector Information for use in Medical Research
• Statement on Consumer and Community Participation in Health and Medical Research
• World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (8th revision)
• Oral History Association of Australia Guidelines of Ethical Practice 2007

The following guidance is based on advice from the NHMRC on Targeted, Likely/Foreseeable and Incidental Participant Recruitment

Recruiting Members of Defined Populations: When Do Special Ethics Considerations Apply?

When planning your research, you need to consider whether members of defined populations (such as people with specific disabilities, migrants from particular countries, or other identifiable groups) are likely to be among your participants. This determines whether you need to address ethical considerations specific to those groups in your application.

Targeted or foreseeable recruitment occurs when your project specifically recruits a defined population, or when the setting and nature of your research makes their participation likely. In these cases, you must address the ethical considerations relevant to that group.

Incidental recruitment occurs when individuals from a defined population may participate simply because they happen to be present in the general population you are recruiting from, without being targeted. In these cases, group-specific ethical considerations may not need to be addressed.

How to apply this distinction

Use a project-specific, common-sense approach. If demographic or other factors mean a foreseeable portion of your participants will come from a defined population, address the relevant ethical considerations. If participation by members of that group is merely conceivable and numbers would be small, you may not need to do so.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities

This distinction is particularly important for research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. If your research targets or is likely to involve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participants, specific guidelines apply. Consult the AH&MRC or AIATSIS HRECs for guidance on when and how these guidelines should be followed.

Important note

Both researchers and ethics review bodies share responsibility for correctly assessing whether recruitment is foreseeable or incidental. Incorrectly classifying recruitment as incidental may result in your application being returned for modification.

• Ethical Conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders 
• Keeping research on track II
• Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) Code of Ethics
• Other AIATSIS guides and resources
• Values and Ethics – Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research
• Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AHMRC)

Depending on the age of the child and their capacity to understand the research, consent from children can be obtained in the following ways:

• verbally, and recorded in writing, audio recording or video recording
• using simple words or pictures to convey the information, in paper format or electronically
• using a child-friendly version of a parent information and consent form, written in age-appropriate language.

The following reference article discussing the ethical issues concerning consenting children may also be useful:

• MCRI Understanding Consent in Research Involving Children: The ethical issues

Recruiting participants from schools (SERAP authorisation)

Research in New South Wales state schools requires approval from the NSW Department of Education and Communities. The SERAP application is no longer being accepting via SERAP online. The department has introduced a new SERAP application process effective from 30 January 2025. The changes are intended to deliver more timely decisions, reduce burden on researchers, and better support research aligned to Our Plan for NSW Public Education.

New SERAP application guidelines have been developed that clearly articulate the purpose of SERAP, its guiding principles and the updated steps involved in preparing and submitting SERAP applications.

To initiate a new SERAP application, please submit a SERAP Expression of Interest (EOI). Please visit Research in our NSW state schools.

All researchers submitting a SERAP form must obtain insurance sign-off from Macquarie University’s Risk and Assurance Unit. This sign-off is obtained via the ‘SERAP-Risk & Assurance Checklist’ form, which is available online in the Forms for Research Applications (FoRA) system.

Research in:

• other states’ public schools or state education sites require approval from the relevant state government Department of Education eg if you want to conduct research involving QLD department sites and/or data, you must submit an application via the Queensland Education Research Inventory (QERI)
• Catholic schools require approval from the relevant Catholic Education Office Diocese
• independent/private schools require approval from the principal.

Download guidelines for Research involving the secondary use of data

Whether you can use existing data in your research depends on a range of legal and ethical factors. This guidance will help you prepare an HREC submission that addresses the requirements of the privacy legislation and the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2025. It covers the applicable legal framework, the information you'll need to provide about your dataset, the ethical context of the original data collection, and the options to consider when working with identifiable information, including how to apply for a waiver of consent.

Researchers should also familiarise themselves with the following guidelines, policies and legislation:

• Chapter 2.3: Qualifying and Waiving Consent, from the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research
• Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)
• The Statutory Guidelines on Research under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002
• Section 27B of the NSW Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 No. 133
• Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)
• Macquarie University’s Release of Student Information Policy and Guidelines

Download guidelines for collecting demographic data.

This document outlines the wording we would recommend for diversity demographic questions based on current expert advice. These could be included in data systems, forms and surveys. It may not be necessary to include all these questions – it is always important to consider why you are collecting data and how it will be used.

For more information on collecting, interpreting and acting on diversity data, contact:

• workplacediversityinclusion@mq.edu.au for questions relating to staff data
• respect@mq.edu.au for questions relating to student data.

• Ethical Oversight in Autoethnography

From 10 December 2025, new legislation comes into effect which restricts social media access by children under the age of 16 in Australia. For guidance on the ethical use of social media to recruit or engage with research participants under 16 years, please refer to our guidance note - New Online Safety Laws: Research Ethics for Under-16s Social Media.