Department of Defence or Veteran Affairs

Research involving the Department of Defence or Veterans' Affairs and past and present defence personnel.

Charles Sturt University human research proposals that meet the criteria below should be referred to the Department of Defence and Veterans' Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee for consideration in the first instance (i.e. prior to seeking Charles Sturt HREC approval):

  • research participants are or include Defence members, other Defence personnel or ex-serving personnel, their information or tissue
  • research participants are recruited, either directly or indirectly, through a service provided by Defence or DVA
  • the human research is to be conducted by Defence or DVA personnel
  • the human research is to be conducted on/in a Defence establishment
  • the human research is to be sponsored, endorsed and/or funded in any part by Defence or DVA.

The Departments of Defence and Veterans' Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee (DDVA HREC) is the HREC for the Department of Defence (Defence) and the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) and the broader community.

Proposals meeting the above criteria must be directed to the DDVA HREC because, in addition to the committee composition required for all HRECs, the DDVA HREC has:

  • at least one Defence health graduate (a current or ex-serving Defence member who has professional qualifications in medicine, nursing, dentistry, psychology or other health professions) and
  • at least one contemporary veteran (an individual who has served in one or more of the conflicts involving Australian troops since 1999), who has a unique perspective of the Defence environment, including considerations for People in dependent and unequal relationships which may be a key factor in research in the area.

Researchers are required to submit a Project Description and all other relevant supporting documentation to the DDVA HREC for consideration prior to any Charles Sturt HREC requirements. The DDVA HREC meet up to ten times per year between February and November. The meeting schedule and further information regarding the application process are available on the DDVA Website.

Applications are to be submitted via email to ddva.hrec@defence.gov.au by the relevant submission closing date.

Researchers can direct questions to the below:

Once approval is granted by the Department of Defence and Veterans' Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee, Charles Sturt researchers will also need to receive University HREC approval prior to the commencement of the research.

CSU HREC approval is requested by completing and submitting the "Projects already approved by another HREC form".

All documentation provided to the DDVA HREC including a copy of the approval letter will need to be included with the form and submitted to ethics@csu.edu.au