Bellberry, the Company, has very carefully ensured it has no influence on the decision making of its Committees. The fees charged are for the review of a study, regardless of the outcome. Fees are determined by the Board and CEO and are managed separately to the Committees. The Committees do not see the financial statements of the Company and have no involvement in this facet of the business.
A fee is charged for providing a review of a research project. The review process starts when the investigator clicks ‘submit’. The study review fee is therefore committed to at that time.
New Protocols
The new protocol review fee funds the cost of:
- Any pre-submission assistance
- The initial HREC review
- Post approval, the ongoing review of minor amendments and other reporting, including:
- administrative changes (personnel updates, site name or address updates)
- PICF amendments
- updates to other participant documents such as recruitment and advertising material
- safety reporting
- serious breach notifications
- progress and final reporting
- site monitoring and desktop auditing
The following items incur fees post approval:
- Protocol amendment
- Investigator’s brochure amendment
- Substantial amendment
- Extension study
Review Outcomes
Fees are levied to cover the costs of providing the expert review, regardless of the outcome of that review. To be clear: Fees are charged for the review process, NOT the review decision. Fees remain payable in cases where a study has been rejected by the HREC.
Investigator-Initiated Studies
If you are an investigator funding your own research project, you may contact Bellberry to discuss fees that apply.
Further information on Fees can be found in BA G6 Application Fees
Applications made via REGIS must include the REGIS submission HREC fee form. Further information on REGIS submissions can be found here
Current Fees*
For submissions from 6 October 2022, the updated fee for review will apply as per the table below. This increase has been necessary to account for CPI impacts and additional costs associated with continued improvements to the quality of our service.
| Item | Current Fee* (ex.GST) | Current Fee* (inc.GST) |
| New Protocol | ||
| New HREC Review Application | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| New Phase 1 HREC Review Application | $8,500 | $9,350 |
| Multi-centre Applications (centres 2-5) | $3,600 | $3,960 |
| Multi-centre Applications (6 or more centres) | $2,530 | $2,783 |
| Extension Study | $3,000 | $3,300 |
| Major Amendment | ||
| Protocol Amendment (per centre) | $600 | $660 |
| Investigator’s Brochure Amendment (per submission) | $600 | $660 |
| Substantial Amendment | $6,000 | $6,600 |
| Minor Amendment | ||
| Administrative Change | Nil | Nil |
| PICF Amendment | Nil | Nil |
| Update to Other Participant Documents such as Recruitment and Advertising Material | Nil | Nil |
| Other Reporting | ||
| Safety Reporting | Nil | Nil |
| Serious Breach Notification | Nil | Nil |
| Progress Reporting | Nil | Nil |
| Final Reporting | Nil | Nil |
*Bellberry reserves the right to alter these fees.