This article is part of the Iris Ethics Knowledge Base; you can find a directory of all articles here.
Overview
The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research is the primary source document for ethics review requirements in Australia. It is jointly developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Australian Research Council, and Universities Australia.
The 2025 edition of the National Statement is the current authoritative version and the edition referred to throughout this Knowledge Base. Earlier editions are retained by the NHMRC as archival documents and do not reflect current requirements; the 2025 edition renumbered and restructured earlier editions, so paragraph references from earlier editions do not carry across.
Accessing the National Statement
The full text of the National Statement is available from the NHMRC at nhmrc.gov.au. A reproduction of the document is maintained in the Iris Ethics document library for reference. For an overview of its structure, see our National Statement Navigator, and for a plain English walkthrough of each section, see our Plain English Summary of the National Statement.
Related NHMRC guidance
The following NHMRC documents are also relevant to ethics review at Iris Ethics:
- Ethical Considerations in Quality Assurance and Evaluation Activities (2014): guidance on the boundary between quality assurance, evaluation, and research; see our article on Evaluation and quality assurance.
- Ethical Conduct in Research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Communities: Guidelines for Researchers and Stakeholders (2018): guidance underpinning NS Chapter 4.7; see our article on Special considerations: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (NS 4.7).
- Guidelines under Section 95 and Section 95A of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth): governing the handling of personal information, including health information, for research where consent or an opt-out approach is not practicable (NS Chapter 2.2)
This page was last updated on 16 September 2026.
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This article makes reference to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2025. It is intended as practical guidance and does not constitute legal advice.
AI Disclosure: Resources in this library were prepared using Large Language Models with input from Iris Ethics staff who guided the scope and design. Subsequent revisions and final versions were developed and approved by Iris Ethics staff.