A12Fundamental Principles of Conducting Research

A12.              Fundamental Principles of Conducting Research

A12.1          Ethics and Research Practices

A12.1.1        All Proposals and ARC-funded research Projects must conform to the principles outlined in the following and successor documents:

a.             Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2007);

b.            as applicable, the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007, updated 2015);

c.            as applicable, NHMRC Values and Ethics: Guidelines for Ethical Conduct in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Research (2003);

d.            as applicable, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Guidelines for Ethical Research in Australian Indigenous Studies (2012);

e.            as applicable, Australia Council for the Arts Indigenous Cultural Protocols for Producing Indigenous Music; Writing; Visual Arts; Media Arts; and Performing Arts (2007);

f.              as applicable, the Australian Code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (2013).

A12.1.2        If there is any conflict between a successor document and its predecessor, then the successor document prevails to the extent of any inconsistency.

A12.2          Applicable Law

A12.2.1        The ARC is required to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act 1988, the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Criminal Code Act 1995.

A12.3          Confidentiality

A12.3.1        The ARC will treat information contained in a Proposal as confidential. However, the ARC may disclose information contained in a Proposal, or otherwise provided to the ARC, to the extent that the information is:

a.             disclosed by the ARC to its advisors (including assessors), officers, employees or other third parties in order to assess, evaluate or verify the quality, accuracy or completeness of a Proposal;

b.            disclosed by the ARC to its advisors (including assessors), officers, employees or other third parties solely to comply with obligations or exercise rights under the ARC Research Integrity and Research Misconduct Policy;

c.            disclosed by ARC personnel to third parties to enable effective management or auditing of the Discovery Program schemes or any Funding Agreement;

d.            disclosed by the ARC to the Minister and their staff;

e.            shared by the ARC within the agency, or with another Commonwealth Department or agency, where this serves the Commonwealth’s legitimate interests;