eProtocol

About us

Bellberry Limited is a national, private not-for-profit organisation providing streamlined scientific and ethical review of human research projects across Australia.

Our aim is to promote and improve the welfare of research participants and the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of research.

Bellberry was formed in 2004 following the recognition of a need for a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) to service the valuable human and health research being conducted within the private sector.

Bellberry Limited started with one Human Research Ethics Committee offering a monthly meeting to researchers in South Australia. The concept of the private, unaffiliated, non institutional based HREC grew, and today Bellberry NHMRC certified HRECs are able to provide the same high quality, independent ethics reviews with 12 committee’s running up to 3 meetings each week.

Bellberry is Australia’s single largest reviewer of clinical research, providing specialist HREC oversight to 40% of CTN registered clinical trials across all phases of clinical and device trials as well as for social and behavioural studies.

Any surplus funds generated by the activities of the Committees are donated back into the Australian medical research community.

Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committees comply with the strict guidelines for clinical trials as set by the NHMRC and ensure that “all kinds of research involving or impacting on humans conform to the highest standards of ethical practice and academic integrity.”

In 2024, Bellberry was honoured as the national winner of the Telstra Best of Business award for Championing Health highlighting its support of advancing research. It is also the only organisation in Australia to gain the “gold seal” of accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) for excellence and ethically sound processes in running Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs).

For further Company information please visit Our Company pages, read our brochure or our Blog for the latest Bellberry news.

Study Review Fees

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 study review fee funds the cost of any pre-submission assistance; the initial review; costs of the ongoing review of adverse events; protocol violations; site visits and the monitoring of research progress. Ongoing monitoring of the study is included in the study review fee.

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Guidelines and Resources

The guidelines section is intended to provide you with information to assist you in preparing your submission and complying with the Bellberry requirements. It include’s guidance on preparing your Protocol and Participant Information Sheet & Consent Forms.

Policies, SOP's & Guidelines

This section contains specific Bellberry Policies and Statements of particulars in order to support you with submitting your application.

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The National Approach

The National Approach to Single Ethical Review of Multi-Centre Research (National Approach) aims to reduce the duplication of ethics review and improve timelines for research start-up.

Bellberry Approach

Bellberry has been providing multi-centre ethical reviews since 2005 and recognises the importance of gaining certification under the National Approach. Bellberry has been granted certification of our ethical review processes relating to all eight Bellberry Human Research Ethics Committees A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H.

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