The Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee (WAAHEC) is one of three Aboriginal specific Human Research Ethics Committees (HREC) and is recognised and registered with the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).

The WAAHEC was established to promote and support quality research that will be reflective of the needs of the community, and was created in response to concerns around the increased research being conducted in Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. The WAAHEC’s objectives are to effectively monitor ethically sound and culturally appropriate research, determine priorities for the research and ensure the benefits of the research to Aboriginal people.

Members of the WAAHEC meet for nine meetings per annum. WAAHEC meetings are usually held at the Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia (AHCWA), 450 Beaufort Street, Highgate.

The next WAAHEC meeting will be held on Thursday, 18 May 2023.

Requirements for Ethics

Approval from the WAAHEC is required when research projects involve research in, or in relation to, Western Australia, and the following applies:

• The research is related to health and wellbeing; and
• the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is an explicit focus of all or part of the research; or
• data collection is explicitly directed at Aboriginal people; or
• research outcomes explicitly related to Aboriginal people; or
• it is proposed to conduct sub-group analyses and separately analyses Aboriginal people in the results; or
• the information, potential over-representation in the dataset, or geographic location has an impact on one or more Aboriginal communities; or
• Government Aboriginal health funds are a source of funding.

Download Ethics Research Project Forms Below