Ethics guidelines

National statement on ethical conduct in human research

The National statement, updated by the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2018, functions as the overarching ethical guidelines for all research involving humans. It is designed to be used by:

• any researcher conducting research with human participants
• any member of an ethical review body reviewing that research
• those involved in research governance
• potential research participants.

The National Statement is grounded in four main principles – Respect, Integrity and Research Merit, Justice and Beneficence – which are applied to different research methods or fields, and to specific participants. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are one group of specific participants recognised in this document.

Ethical guidelines for research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

The NHMRC's Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities: Guidelines for researchers and stakeholders (2018) replaces the previous Values and ethics: Guidelines for ethical conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research (2003) and Guidelines on ethical matters in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health research (1991). Primarily created for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and organisations, this updated edition provides clear guidelines for researchers, communities, human research ethics committees and other stakeholders on conducting ethical research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The guidelines are linked to the National statement, with references to the relevant sections within the document. They are not meant to be a compliance checklist, but to offer a framework of important cultural values common to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for researchers to address throughout the design and implementation of their research work.

Based on the need for trust, recognition and values, the guidelines describe six principles important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These core values, which have been identified through a national consultation process including workshops with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, are:

1. Spirit and integrity – a connection between the past, present and future, and the respectful and honourable behaviour that holds Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander values together.
2. Reciprocity – Shared responsibilities and obligations to family and the land based on kinship networks, also includes sharing of benefits.
3. Respect – for each other’s dignity and individual ways of living. This is the basis of how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples live.
4. Equality – recognising the equal value of all individuals. Fairness and justice, the right to be different.
5. Survival and protection – of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, languages and identity. Acknowledging shared values is a significant strength.
6. Responsibility – Is the recognition of important responsibilities, which involve Country, kinship, caring for others and maintenance of cultural and spiritual awareness. The main responsibility is to do no harm to any person or any place. Responsibilities can be shared so others can be held accountable.

Keeping research on track

Keeping research on track II (2018), which updates the earlier Keeping research on track (2005), provides advice on how the values and principles outlined in Ethical conduct in research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities can be put into practice in research. Created specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and organisations, it primarily aims to empower Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to get the most out of research projects, to know their rights and responsibilities and a checklist of what some important considerations may be.

In addition to the six principles above, it outlines the research process in eight steps and describes what the rights and the responsibilities of the researcher and the community are, and which questions the community can ask from the researcher. The eight steps in the research process are described as:

1. Building relationships
2. Conceptualisation – thinking
3. Development and approval
4. Data collection and management
5. Analysis – looking at the meaning
6. Report writing
7. Dissemination – sharing the results
8. Learning from our experience.

The Lowitja Institute, in partnership with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, carried out an evaluation of Values and ethics and Keeping research on track for the NHMRC in 2015.