Animal Ethics Committee
The University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) oversees the care and use of animals in research and teaching at the University of Tasmania, and ensures all animal care and use is done in accordance with the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes and by the Animal Welfare Act 1993 (updated 2023).
Expressions of interest are sought for membership to the University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (AEC).
Members are required to attend 1-2 meetings per month of approximately 2 hours duration, plus allocate some time for preparation (reading and reviewing applications). Meetings are held via Zoom and members external to the University can choose to receive a small stipend for each meeting attended.
Please contact the Research Ethics Unit if you have any questions about becoming a member:
Applications
At any time when using vertebrates or cephalopods for scientific research purposes and teaching.
The Research Ethics Unit has developed the Animal Ethics Decision Aid (PDF 261.0 KB) tool, to assist in identifying if your research project requires animal ethics approval.
The University uses the Ethics Review Manager (ERM) online system to manage the lifecycle of Ethics Approvals including the submission of applications, amendments and reporting.
If animals are captive and/or you will use devices that could alter animals' behaviour or physiology in any way, a full ethics application is required.
Cannot be used for studies that alter animal behaviour (e.g., using baits or lures) and must be observational only.
All investigators and students undertaking research or teaching involving animals at the University of Tasmania are required to complete mandatory animal ethics training. As such, completion of AEC approved ComPass training and submitting the certificate via ERM is a requirement for every member of the project team prior to approval by the AEC.
Out of Session (OOS) amendment approvals are granted for situations where if the matter were not considered in advance of the next AEC meeting, animal welfare and/or the 3R principles would be compromised.
For example:
- An investigator has fallen ill and a new investigator is required immediately to undertake the work that was scheduled.
- Unanticipated timeframe constraint (i.e., for field work)
- Limited availability of equipment or transport (i.e., fishing or research vessels)
Note: If you are unsure if the request is urgent enough to be considered OOS, however you believe animal welfare may be impacted, please contact the animal.ethics@utas.edu.au.
Researchers must be assessed yearly as competent by a University Veterinarian if undertaking veterinary procedures before commencement of projects. The Veterinary Surgeons Act 1987 states that a person shall not engage in the practice of veterinary surgery or render a veterinary service unless that person is a registered veterinary surgeon. However, a 'veterinary service' can be performed for the purposes of teaching or research if:
The service is occurring within a licensed institution. and you are assessed as competent by a Vet (nominated by the institution) in the preceding 12 months, or you are supervised by, and are performing the procedure in the presence of, a registered Vet.
A notification of external research application is required if a University of Tasmania staff member or student engages with an external organisation for:
- the purpose of taking part in research or a teaching project where the project involves animals,
- the external organisation is the responsible body; and
- ethics approval has been granted by another AEC.
The University of Tasmania AEC meets on a fortnightly basis. The Research Ethics Unit can provide specific advice by contacting them at Animal.Ethics@utas.edu.au
An unexpected adverse event impacts on the welfare of the animal and was not considered in the initial application. The event must be reported to the University Veterinarian within 48 hours.
In the case of fieldwork, where this is not always possible, the UAE must be reported within 48 hours of return from the field.
The University of Tasmania must report animal use statistics for each calendar year to the Tasmanian state government as required under Section 35 of the Tasmanian Animal Welfare Act 1993. Animal use details are also required by interstate governments where research is undertaken under licence agreements with the University of Tasmania (i.e., NSW, QLD, WA, VIC and SA).
The animal usage forms for the reporting period 1 January - 31 December must be submitted to comply with reporting animal use statistics deadlines.
Animal Usage forms are not a substitute for the Annual Report of the progress of your AEC approved project. Annual Reports are due on the anniversary of the project approval date.
The University of Tasmania uses the Ethics Review Manager (ERM) online system to manage all aspects of the lifecycle of Research Ethics Approvals. To maintain ethics approval for your project, all reporting obligations need to be met and the University of Tasmania AEC must be notified of any modifications.
Further details of the submission requirements and form types are outlined below. Any enquiries about managing your research project can be directed to the Executive Officers in the Research Ethics Unit. Please include your ethics reference number in any communications.
Email: Animal.Ethics@utas.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 6226 2156
Modifications to an approved animal ethics application must be submitted via ERM to the AEC for consideration before any change to the project occurs. The first step is to submit an Amendment Request so that the Executive Officer can unlock the project for modification. Please note that most amendments are reviewed by the full committee and may be sent back for revisions prior to approval.
Section 2.4.34 of the Australian Code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (the Code) states that: Investigators must provide the following to the AEC in accordance with AEC and institutional policies and procedures (see Clauses 2.2.24 and 2.2.32):
- an annual report for an approved project, regardless of the duration of AEC approval for the project. This requirement is not to be confused with the yearly completion of an Animal Usage form which is for State government reporting only.
Annual reports must be submitted on the anniversary date of approval each year. The report must clearly outline the progress of the project to date. The AEC will allow the continuation of approval for only those projects and activities that are ethically acceptable and conform to the requirements of the Code.
A maximum of two extension requests (Extension/Progress Reports) can be submitted for consideration. You will need to clearly justify why an extension of ethics approval is being requested. The AEC will allow the continuation of approval for only those projects and activities that are ethically acceptable and conform to the requirements of the Code.
The Australian Code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (the Code) states that investigators must provide the following to the AEC in accordance with AEC and institutional policies and procedures:
- a final report on outcomes as soon as practicable after completion or discontinuation of a project
Final reports must be submitted by the expiration date of the approval or by the completion of the project. If the project is completed ahead of the expiration of ethics approval, a final report must be submitted within one month of completing.