Before conducting a clinical trial in New Zealand, approval must first be obtained from an Independent Ethics Committee. In New Zealand, this is a centralised function conducted by one of the five Health and Disability Ethics Committees (HDECs).

Meeting dates:

Cumulatively, meetings are held weekly and applications may be submitted to any of the five HDECs. 

Lead Ethics Site:

One of the participating Principal Investigators is selected as the HDEC Coordinating Investigator (CI) on behalf of all NZ participating sites. The Coordinating Investigator is responsible as the primary point of contact between the HDEC and all other investigator sites.

Applications:

Applications are made electronically using the HDEC Online Forms. Sponsor’s are required to register with the Online Forms to “authorise” the initial application prior to the final submission.

dditional information on how to complete the electronic application can be found by clicking the button IRB/IEC Application Guidelines.

HDEC Standard Operating Procedures:

The HDECs are required to act in accordance with the procedural rules contained in the Standard Operating Procedures for Health and Disability Ethics Committees.