Victoria’s first Aboriginal-led human research ethics committee has been formalised, with Deputy Premier and Minister for Medical Research, Ben Carroll, welcoming the first members of the Aboriginal Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) on Friday.
Funded by the Victorian Government, the HREC will oversee medical research involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
It will ensure projects uphold cultural safety and deliver meaningful benefits for First Peoples, said Minister Carroll.
“We’re giving Aboriginal families a say over medical research that involves them – that means more ethical research with better research outcomes,” said the Minister.
“We’re helping strengthen community trust and accountability in medical research involving Aboriginal people.”
The HREC will be delivered by the Victorian Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisation (VACCHO). VACCHO is the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing in Victoria.
“The VACCHO HREC now fills a gap and provides a rigorous, culturally embedded review process that finally puts Aboriginal research back where it belongs – in Aboriginal hands,” said VACCHO Acting CEO, Jim O’Shea.
“Over the past 25 years, researchers undertaking work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Victoria have navigated mainstream ethics that have not been designed with Community or with cultural safety at their heart.”
“An Aboriginal Human Research Ethics Committee review is not just best practice; it is the mark of responsible research.”
For more information about the committee, visit: www.vaccho.org.au/hrec.
