Applying for animal ethics approval

Do I need to apply for animal ethics approval?

All scientific activities involving animals must be approved by an AEC.

Factors which affect whether animal ethics approval is required for proposed activities include:

• Whether the species involved is defined as an animal in the Animal Protection Act and the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.
• Whether activities are being undertaken for scientific purposes as per the definition under the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.  
• Scientific purposes include any activity conducted with the aim to acquire, develop or demonstrate knowledge or techniques in all areas of science.  This includes research and teaching, but also includes field trials, environmental studies, and diagnosis.  Observation based activities that may impact the animal, or its environment, are also included.
• If you are unsure if your activity requires AEC approval, contact the Office of Research and Innovation for more information.

How to apply for animal ethics approval

The CDU AEC can only accept applications from registered users of the AEC.

View or download the application process infographic.

Animal ethics application process (PDF, 268.19 KB)

From 2026, the CDU AEC has implemented a fee for service for users that are not CDU staff or students.  Please see the Animal Ethics Committee Service Fee Schedule (PDF, 196.25 KB) for more information.  

Please note, if you are an external organisation requesting to use the services of the CDU AEC, that there are several steps that need to be undertaken prior to submitting a new project application for consideration by the CDU AEC.  The CDU AEC first needs to approve the organisation as an external user of its services, and a written agreement must be enacted before utilising any AEC services.  Contact the Animal Ethics team for more information.

Application assistance