AIHW Ethics Committee

The functions and composition of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Ethics Committee are prescribed in S. 16(1) of the AIHW Act and Regulations accompanying the Act. The Committee's main responsibilities are to form an opinion as to the acceptability or otherwise, on ethical grounds, of current or proposed health and welfare-related activities of the AIHW or bodies with which the AIHW is associated, and to inform the AIHW of the Committee's opinion. The AIHW may release identifiable health and welfare data for research purposes with the agreement of the Committee, provided that release does not contravene the Commonwealth Privacy Act and the terms and conditions under which the data were supplied to the AIHW.