TOWARDS A CONSENSUAL CULTURE IN THE ETHICAL REVIEW OF RESEARCH

The Report of the Review of the the Role and Functioning of Institutio nal Ethics Committees was submitted to the Minister for Health and Fam ily Services in March 1996.(1) It recommended, among other things, tha t the Statement on Human Experimentation, issued under the name of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in 1992, should be revised. A similar recommendation was made in the report by Dr Marg aret Allers in 1994 into the collection, manufacture and injection of human growth hormone.(2) The recommendation for a review of the Statem ent was approved by the Council in November 1996. The Australian Healt h Ethics Committee, a Principal Committee of the NHMRC, had for some t ime been discussing various aspects of the Statement on Human Experime ntation and independently decided that the Statement should now be rev ised. The Committee's first consideration was the tone that the Statem ent should set for the ethical review of research. This article expres ses the Committee's views on this matter.