For more than 100 years, Victoria University (VU) has offered accessible education to students in Melbourne’s west and beyond. We are one of Australia’s few dual-sector universities, with currently over 40,000 enrolled vocational and higher education students studying across our campuses. Our moral purpose is to provide vocational and higher education that transforms the lives of students and the communities we serve. Our values are a living set of actions that underpin our moral purpose.

VU is seeking applications from female identifying members of the community to fill a vacancy on its Victoria University Human Research Ethics Committee as a committee member.

VU’s Human Research Ethics Committee (VUHREC) reviews research projects involving human participants. The role of the Committee is to make sure that the rights of participants are respected and that no human research is approved unless it meets stringent requirements of integrity, justice and fairness.

Committee work is voluntary, however members receive a modest honorarium.

What does membership involve?

Committee members are usually appointed for a term of three years, which may be renewed at the end of the term. New members must familiarise themselves with the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 (updated 2018), which establishes requirements for Human Research Ethics Committees and sets out the principles by which decisions/recommendations are made. Members are typically required to attend 11 monthly meetings throughout the year for which several hours’ preparation (reading and reviewing research applications) is required.

Meetings are collegial and their function is to bring together all members’ views on the ethical implications of each research proposal. New members begin by observing meetings and attending Induction training. Meeting length varies, however, meetings are generally 2-4 hours. Prior to the meetings, members are required to read and make recommendations regarding research applications and to review the agenda. Committee members will also be invited to attend training opportunities during the year.