Key dates

The following dates and submission deadlines apply to the Barwon Health Human Research Ethics Committee meetings held throughout 2023 and 2024.

NB. There is no deadline for negligible risk/QA applications, site-specific assessment applications or amendments.

Submission Close Date Final Wed of the previous month	Meeting Date Second Wed of the month
2025 Dates
29 January	12 February
19 February*	5 March*
26 March	9 April
30 April	14 May
21 May*	4 June*
25 June	9 July
30 July	13 August
27 August	10 September
24 September	8 October
29 October	12 November
26 November	10 December

*Note earlier submission and meeting dates due to public holidays

The HREC’s feedback from the meeting will be sent on the Friday following each meeting.

Research Management Committee meetings are held every Wednesday at 2pm.

Principal Investigators (PIs) may be invited to attend the meeting to discuss their project and answer any queries that arise. The RMC encourages PIs to discuss complex projects with RMC early in development. If you would like to attend an RMC meeting for an early discussion of your project, please contact Nicola Cooley on nicola.cooley@barwonhealth.org.au.

Expected timeframes for commercially sponsored trials:

• Receive Research Governance Officer (RGO) review within 7 working days of submission
• Once RGO deems submission complete and satisfactory, project is sent to the next RMC meeting
• RMC feedback is sent to researchers by the Friday/Monday following each meeting

Expected timeframes for non-commercially sponsored trials:

• Receive RGO review within 14 working days of submission
• Once RGO deems submission complete and satisfactory, project is sent to the next RMC meeting
• RMC feedback is sent to researchers by the Friday/Monday following each meeting

Delays in answering RGO or RMC queries will result in an extended timeframe.

The Coordinating Office for Clinical Trial Research offers online ERM training for applicants, sponsors and CROs throughout the year.

The schedule for ERM training is distributed through the Coordinating Office’s Streamline eBulletin which outlines upcoming training sessions and information on how to register. Training occurs on either a Tuesday or Thursday each week from 2-4pm via Microsoft Teams. There are three training sessions:

• Introduction to ERM
• SSA Applications
• Post Approvals/Post Authorisations

To be added to the distribution list for the eBulletin, please email multisite.ethics@health.vic.gov.au, or click here to view the most recent eBulletin.

You may also find the answers to your ERM questions here.

Commencing in 2024, progress reports for all research projects are now due 1 August each year

This applies to all studies reviewed by the Barwon Health HREC and those reviewed by external HRECs with Barwon Health governance authorisation.

Progress reports for all projects are now due on 1 August each year, as opposed to the anniversary of project approval. Reports should encompass the time period from the last progress report submitted.

In addition, the annual progress report template has changed to a REDCap survey that is easier for Investigators to complete and collects data that is more relevant to Barwon Health’s requirements. Investigators no longer need to submit a progress report via ERM. Find out more here.