NHMRC Committees

The Council and Principal Committees of the NHMRC are established under Section 20 and 35 of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992 (the NHMRC Act) respectively. Under the NHMRC Act the Minister must establish Principal Committees called the Research Committee and the Australian Health Ethics Committee. The Minister may also establish such other Principal Committees the Minister thinks are necessary to assist Council to carry out any of its functions.

 

For the 2009-12 triennium the Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP, deemed that NHMRC would require the following six Principal Committees in addition to Council:

• Research Committee
• Australian Health Ethics Committee
• Human Genetic Advisory Committee
• Health Care Committee
• Prevention and Community Health Committee
• Embryo Research Licensing Committee [established under the Research Involving
  Human Embryos Act 2002 (RIHE Act)].

Members of Council and the Principal Committees are appointed by the Minister, on a
part-time basis, for a period of up to three years. Members are eligible for reappointment. The membership for Council and the Principal Committees for the 2009-12 triennium is a mixture of new members and members that have previously served NHMRC.

The Chair of each Principal Committee, other than the Embryo Research Licensing Committee, must be a member of Council [Sections 35(6) and 35(9) of the NHMRC Act].