Navigate the 2025 National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research: Practical guidance for government evaluators

The National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research is changing. Whether you're running government evaluations or procuring evaluation services, you need to know what's coming.

Taking effect early 2026, the updates to the National Statement introduce new guidance on ethical considerations for specific participants. For government evaluators working with specific population groups, sensitive data, or community consultations, these changes will reshape how you identify increased risk, design appropriate safeguards, and navigate ethics reviews.

This practical session cuts through the complexity. We'll break down what's changed in Section 4, what it means for your evaluation practice, and how to prepare your processes and team before the changes come into effect.

You'll walk away knowing:

• How Section 4's revised approach to "increased risk" affects your project design

• When review by an HREC is needed

• What updates you need to make to your ethics and governance processes, and evaluation design

• How to apply the new contextual risk assessment framework to your evaluations

Led by Allen + Clarke's evaluation experts who are experienced in designing and delivering ethical evaluations for government, this isn't theory, it's practical guidance from people who've done this work.

Who should join:

Government evaluators who design, commission, or deliver evaluations, especially those working with sensitive populations or data.