All research projects involving human participants must be approved by a properly constituted Ethics Committee. Protection - the most important function of the HREC is to protect, not only participants in the research and the community at large, but also the researchers, the research community and the University. In this respect the HREC has a very wide brief. Research that offends or harms subjects is also harmful to the researcher and the wider research community. Such research can sometimes lead to legal action against individual researchers or the University, but even where no such action is taken, offensive or harmful research can damage reputations and hamper future research efforts.
Different perspectives are important in identifying possible sources of harm or offence.
The HREC provides a useful resource for researchers in that, it brings together individuals from different backgrounds, who can comment on a project from a variety of perspectives. The HREC seldom refuses approval for projects, but it often suggests ways in which projects may be modified so as to forestall possible difficulties. The HREC, and the various processes that are associated with the HREC, has the important task of increasing knowledge and awareness of ethical issues in relation to human research, especially since many researchers have little training in this area. The Chair and Members of the Committee are readily available for discussion of ethical matters either with individuals or with groups of researchers and the HREC actively encourages such discussion as an integral part of research management. In some unusual cases conflict may develop between researchers and their participants or between researchers and members of the community.