Animal Ethics Approval - Australian Synchrotron

Animal Research Ethics Procedure

Researchers planning to conduct experiments involving the use of animals for a research purpose at the Australian Synchrotron (AS) must obtain ethics approval from the Australian Synchrotron Animal Ethics Committee (AS-AEC). This requirement applies to all live animal research conducted at the Australian Synchrotron. Animal research is only permitted on the Imaging and Medical Beamline (IMBL).

The Australian Synchrotron maintains an SPPL Licence issued by AWV-DEECA under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1986) and complies with the Australian Code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes, 8th ed. 2013

Navigating the Animal Ethics Review Process at the Australian Synchrotron

As an enabling research facility, the Australian Synchrotron supports both domestic and international researchers in conducting animal-based scientific investigations. To ensure compliance with ethical standards, all applicants must follow a structured review process governed by the Australian Synchrotron Animal Ethics Committee (AS-AEC).

Understanding Institutional Responsibilities

Before submitting an ethics application to the Australian Synchrotron, applicants are encouraged to:

• Familiarise themselves with the policies and obligations of their home institution, as requirements may vary.
• Recognise that approval from a home institution’s Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) does not guarantee approval from the AS-AEC.

The Australian Synchrotron, operated by ANSTO, is committed to working collaboratively with external ethics committees and institutions to ensure a robust, transparent, and compliant review process that meets the obligations of all parties involved.

Demonstrating Australian Ethics training and literacy

All Primary investigators who submit an application to the AS-AEC are required to complete Australian Animal Research and Ethics training (Module 1) via the COMPASS Ethics training suite prior to their experimental window.

Support and Resources

Applicants can access documentation, standard operating procedures, technical information, and personalised support by contacting:

• AS-AEC Support: aec@ansto.gov.au
• IMBL and Veterinary Research Team: as-imbl@ansto.gov.au 

We strongly recommend engaging with the Imaging and Medical Beamline (IMBL) team during the application development phase to ensure your proposal and methodology aligns with the unique operational requirements of Synchrotron-based research.

Key Considerations for Applicants

Please review the following before submitting your ethics application:

• Home institution AEC approval does not influence AS-AEC decisions. Each application is assessed independently.
• Depending on the type of research being performed and/or relevant collaborations involved with an application, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or equivalent agreement may be required between AECs
• International applicants (not affiliated with an Australian institution) must submit their ethics application to the AS-AEC as part of their beamtime proposal. While approval from their home institution is not required, the AS-AEC may request evidence of competency assessment or training in their home country, as relevant to the application.
• An approved beamtime proposal does not influence or have any bearing on the likelihood of ethics approval. These two assessment procedures are independent an an applicant must achieve approval via each prior to an experiment proceeding.
• Domestic Applicants must engage with the ethics officer and/or the AEC at their home/affiliate Australian institute and seek guidance on home institute collaborative research obligations prior to engaging the Australian Synchrotron AEC.
• An approved AEC is one that:
  • Complies with the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes.
  • Operates under a state-based legislative framework with standards equivalent to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986.

 If AS-AEC approval is not acquired sufficiently in advance of your scheduled beam time (including all breeding, delivery and acclimatisation), your beam allocation may be canceled -  rescheduling to an alternate beam round is only possible pending the beam application raking highly enough in the subsequent/rescheduled round.

How and when to apply

To ensure compliance with ethical standards, the assessment of beamtime proposals and Animal Ethics Committee (AEC) applications occurs concurrently. Beamtime will only be scheduled once AEC approval has been granted. Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their AEC application at the same time as their beamtime proposal.

If you are unfamiliar with Australian animal ethics obligations or the Australian Synchrotron’s ethics process, we recommend submitting your AEC application in advance of your beamtime proposal to allow sufficient time for review and feedback.

AS-AEC Ethics Document Pack

Please use the following link to download all Australian Synchrotron AEC Ethics documents: AS-AEC document pack

Application Procedure (by Applicant Type)

Domestic Applicants

1. Pre-Submission Consultation
   Discuss your proposed experiment and animal holding requirements with an IMBL Scientist before submitting your beamtime proposal.
2. Beamtime Proposal Submission
   When completing your beamtime application, ensure you select the checkbox:
   “Will this proposal involve holding or usage of live animals on the Imaging and Medical Beamline at the Australian Synchrotron?”

• AEC Application Requirements

  3.1) If your home institution has an approved AEC:
  Submit the following documents to aec@ansto.gov.au:

  • The approved version of your home institution’s AEC application.
  • Any approved minor amendments relevant to your proposed Synchrotron experiments.
  • Approved copies of all relevant supporting documents (monitoring sheets, forms etc)

  • Evidence of approval from your home institution’s AEC for both the original application and any amendments.

    3.2) If your home institution does not have an approved AEC:

•  International applicants are to complete and submit an AS-AEC application form to aec@ansto.gov.au.
• In addition to their application, non-AEC domestic applicants are to submit all relevant supporting documentation (ie monitoring sheets, forms) alongside their application.
• As relevant to their application, the AS-AEC Ethics officer will request relevant supporting documentation (ie competency/procedure training evidence) via email post triage of the application. 

International Applicants 

1. Pre-Submission Consultation
   Discuss your proposed experiment and animal holding requirements with anIMBL Scientist before submitting your beamtime proposal.
2. Beamtime Proposal Submission
   When completing your beamtime application, ensure you select the checkbox:
   “Will this proposal involve holding or usage of live animals on the Imaging and Medical Beamline at the Australian Synchrotron?”

3. AEC Application Requirements

   3.1) International applicants are to complete and submit an AS-AEC application form to aec@ansto.gov.au.

   3.2) In addition to their application, international applicants are to submit all relevant supporting documentation (ie monitoring sheets, forms) alongside their application. 

   3.3)  As relevant to their application, the AS-AEC Ethics officer will request relevant supporting documentation (ie competency/procedure training evidence) via email post triage of the application. 

AEC meeting dates

(Updated July - 2025)

Notification of Application status

 The AS-AEC, via its Ethics Officer, will notify the Primary Investigator of the outcome of their AEC application within 10 business days of the meeting a submission is reviewed at. 

The Ethics Officer will provide a formal Notice of Approval post ethics approval/approved application amendment, alongside all approved documentation, via email to the nominated PI contact address. 

Amendment to Approved Ethics

Amendments can be made using the AS-AEC Amendment Request form. Amendments are to be submitted via aec@ansto.gov.au. 

Please see the following definitions, procedural considerations and timelines related to minor and major amendments

Minor Amendment

A minor amendment refers to a change that:

• Does not alter the overall aim or scope of the approved project.
• Has minimal or no impact on animal welfare.
• Involves administrative updates (e.g., change in personnel, contact details).
• Includes minor procedural refinements that reduce animal impact or improve welfare.
• May involve additional procedures that are already approved under the same project or are of similar/equivalent nature and impact.

These amendments are reviewed and approved through an expedited process by a delegated subcommittee.

Major Amendment

A major amendment involves changes that:

• Alter the scientific aims, scope, or methodology of the project.
• Introduce new procedures that may increase the level of impact or risk to animals.
• Significantly change the species or number of animals used.
• Modify the duration or intensity of animal use in a way that could affect welfare.
• Require new ethical considerations or a reassessment of the project's justification.

Major amendments require full AEC review and approval before implementation -  Major amendments will be reviewed at the above scheduled meeting dates or may require an extra-ordinary (EO) meeting to be scheduled. In instances where an EO meeting is required, the Australian Synchrotron reserves the right to allocate cost(s) to be borne by the applicant who necessitates the meeting.

Animal welfare

It is a requirement of the Australian Synchrotron AEC and Australian Code to report all expected and unexpected or adverse events regardless of whether the incident had a negative impact on animal welfare. All animal incidents must be reported within 48 hours using the AS-AEC animal incident report form and are to be submitted via aec@ansto.gov.au

Examples of animal incidents that must be reported include:

• death of an animal, or group of animals, that was not expected or approved
• adverse effects or unforeseen impact/complication following a procedure or treatment
• adverse effects in a larger number of animals than predicted during the planning of the project or activity, based on the number of animals actually used, not the number approved for the study
• a greater level of pain or distress than was approved the planning of the project or activity
• power failures, inclement weather, emergency situation or other factors external (Force Majeure/excusable event) which impact the project or activity or that could be perceived have a negative impact on the welfare of the animals
• experimental endpoint was not reached due to equipment failures, where animal welfare was not impacted
• substitution of approved brand of consumable or reagent that was specified in the application that was not available to use during the experiment, where animal welfare was not impacted.

Post experiment reporting

The Chief Investigator on the AEC application MUST submit an AS Animal Experiment Report within 2 weeks of completing the beamtime. Failure to submit the required reports by the stipulated deadline will lead to suspension of approval of the project. The Committee may also exercise its right to withhold approval for new applications while project reports on previously approved projects are outstanding

Chief Investigators must also provide the AEC with the following:

• an annual report for each project having active approval, regardless of the duration of AEC approval for the project
• a final report on outcomes as soon as practicable after completion or discontinuation of a project.

The continuation of all approved animal ethics projects is contingent upon the submission of annual reports to the AEC. The report will advise the AEC on:

• what progress has been achieved, and whether the project is meeting its aims
• any problems that may have interfered with progress of the project
• how many animals have been used
• whether the well-being of the animals is consistent with that anticipated in the proposal.

Annual project reports must be submitted by the 31st January of the following year using the AS-AEC Annual project report form.

Use of Post-Mortem Tissue

Post-mortem tissue samples may be used at any beamline across the Synchrotron. These samples must comply with the Experiment Authorisation procedures and must be generated in compliance with requirements relevant to the tissue type proposed for use. For further information, contact the ANSTO Ethics officer.

Useful Links

• Australian Code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes, 8th ed. 2013
• Guidelines for the ethical use of animals in research & teaching, agriculture Victoria
  These Guidelines contain information and resources to aid all persons involved in the use of animals in research and teaching in carrying out their responsibilities under the legislation.
• 3Rs implementation strategies and techniques
  Replacement - techniques that replace the use of animals must be sought and used where possible
  Reduction - each project must use no more than the minimum number of animals necessary and
  Refinement - projects should be designed to avoid pain and distress in animals.
• NHMRC Guidelines to Promote the Wellbeing of Animals Used For Scientific Purposes
• Best Practice Methodology in the Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes