What is an ethics exemption?
An ethics exemption is a determination that a project meets the criteria for exemption from ethical review under the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2025).
Research activities must not commence until written confirmation of exemption has been issued by the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee.
When should I apply for an exemption?
An exemption application may be appropriate where a project:
- Uses existing data or information that has been fully de-identified before it is provided to the research team, and there is no intention or reasonable possibility of identifying individuals from that data.
- Uses information that is publicly available through a legislated or regulated source, such as government databases, registries, or official statistics.
- The project poses no physical, psychological, cultural, social, or economical risk to participants or the community.
Educational and training activities: Research conducted solely for educational or training purposes, where the outcomes are used only within the relevant course or program, may not require ethics review. However, where there is an intention to publish or otherwise disseminate findings beyond the course or program, researchers should submit an exemption application for assessment.
Further information can be found in Section 5.1.15–5.1.17 of the National Statement.
If you are unsure whether your project qualifies for an exemption, contact the research ethics office before applying.
Research not eligible for exemption
Research that falls outside the exemption categories described in the National Statement will generally require ethical review. This includes research that:
- Involves identifiable or potentially re-identifiable information, data, or human biospecimens.
- Involves direct interaction, intervention, or treatment allocation involving participants.
- Collects personal or sensitive information, or information that may place participants at risk of harm, distress, burden, disadvantage, or discomfort.
- Requires a waiver of consent or another determination by the HREC.
- Presents risks beyond those contemplated by the exemption categories.
Please note: Research involving the use of personal information without consent is not eligible for exemption because a waiver of consent must be considered and approved by an appropriate ethics review body.