Check if we’re right for you Download the application form
Only community researchers, and those unable to pay for review, should apply here
We apologise, but due to a rise in demand for our services we are typically unable to offer review to government or commercial organisations. Applicants seeking review for commercial or government-funded research should instead seek review from the Independent Human Research Ethics Committee — Social Science.
In 2024 we were receiving up to ten applications a month — too many for a voluntary committee. It is fantastic that so many researchers seek ethics review. But we are all volunteers, and our unpaid labour was effectively subsidising government and private sector research. AREC exists to serve community researchers who would otherwise go unsupported.
Research within the scope of the Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDEC) must be reviewed by HDEC, not by us.
Are we the right committee for you?
Four quick questions. Nothing is stored or sent — this is just to point you the right way.
1. Are you able to get ethics review through a university, CRI, or other institution?
2. Does your research fall within the HDEC scope — health or disability services, patients, or identifiable health information?
3. Is your research commercial, or funded or commissioned by government or a business?
4. Have you already started, or completed, collecting data from participants?
Who we are
The Aotearoa Research Ethics Committee, formerly the New Zealand Ethics Committee, is an independent, not-for-profit ethics advisory committee. Our role is to provide independent ethical review of community research conducted in Aotearoa New Zealand, and to safeguard the rights and wellbeing of research participants and researchers.
Researchers without a committee
We offer review to community and professional researchers who are not eligible to apply to the standing committees of tertiary institutions or the health and disability sector.
You may walk away at any stage
Seeking review through AREC is voluntary, and researchers may withdraw at any point. Keeping that in mind helps us respect the dignity and autonomy of the researcher, just as ethical research respects that of participants.
Guidance, not gatekeeping
We see review as a guided conversation. The committee’s task is not only to highlight ethical dilemmas but to suggest how they may be satisfactorily resolved.
Why apply for ethics review?
You may want to consider an ethical review of your research project if:
- you are gathering information or data and want to ensure you are adhering to ethical standards;
- you want to ensure your research design is ethically sound and protects the rights of your participants;
- you want to ensure you have considered and minimised any risk for participants;
- you want to ensure that your research has beneficial outcomes;
- you want to increase the legitimacy of your research and perhaps publish your results;
- your funding requires ethical review.
I wish to thank the committee for what you do by your review process, which for me is thought-provoking and a great reminder to not be complacent about ethical / evaluation / research matters and the ways in which I articulate them. Thank you also for your genuine support and willingness to awhi and support my application process.
Shaun Akroyd, Managing Director, Akroyd Research & Evaluation
Our values
Our review is guided by tikanga Māori alongside established research ethics principles. We ask not only whether research is permissible, but whether it is right — te tika — for the people and communities involved.
What is the right thing to do?
Protecting; providing guardianship to all involved in research and to the ethics of research.
To cherish, conserve and sustain — a reciprocal concept of care and respect.
The act of respectful listening, and incorporating and engaging with diverse voices.