The National Statement requires the consideration of academic merit in the ethical review process. HREC members are not necessarily qualified to assess the research merit of each application and so, the HREC requires evidence of academic merit to be submitted with each application.

Researchers generally demonstrate the academic merit of their research by:

• Asking a qualified academic to review the research and complete the HREC peer review form
• Providing copies of the reviewer comments and faculty approval from the confirmation of candidature process
• Demonstrate that the research is funded through a process of competitive review
• Demonstrating that the research approach, exactly or closely follows, an approach published in a peer-reviewed journal