Permits and Ethics Approval

Permits
Surveys involving the sampling of flora and fauna may require permission or authority from a number of sources.

In the Northern Territory this involves, firstly, obtaining a permit to undertake scientific research. This permit is available from the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment (formerly Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory). The application form requires details of the aim, location, institution and investigators involved, the species targeted and the methods involved in sampling flora and fauna.

You will also require permission of the land owner or leaseholder. Most land in Northern Australia is occupied, owned or managed by Aboriginal traditional owners. It is essential to consult with traditional owners earlier in the planning phase of your survey.

If you are collecting in Kakadu National Park or similar area you will need to apply for a specific permit. Permission to survey may be granted by Park staff after consultation with the traditional owners of the area, through the Park Board of Management.

In the Northern Territory a register of Aboriginal sacred sites is maintained by the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority. For a fee, they will check the register for sacred sites in your survey area.

Ethics Approval
Various Committees exist throughout Australia to control animal research, ensuring that it complies with relevant legislation and Code of Practice of the jurisdiction within which the research is conducted, e.g. the Animal Care and Ethics Committees (ACECs) in New South Wales (Agriculture).

In the NT this committee is called the 'NT Animal Ethics Experimentation Committee' and approval is needed from this committee for any projects carried out by Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment staff,Charles Darwin University researchers, postgraduate students and for any teaching purposes. The aims, investigators, species and numbers of individuals used, justification of trapping methods, details of methods used to minimise stress and euthanasia techniques, as appropriate, must be detailed.

Application forms are obtained from the Research Management Division ofCharles Darwin University or can be downloaded directly from theCharles Darwin University website

For more information Please view Weblink http://www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/research/ awc/code.htm "Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes, 6th Edition (1997)" Available via this site as an Adobe PDF file. http://www.agric.nsw.gov.au From this home page search for:  'Animal Care and Ethics' http://www.cdu.edu.au/research/ethics.html Application forms for animal ethics in the NT, can be obtained at theCharles Darwin University website. Go toCharles Darwin University clearance forms, then Application for ethical clearance.

4.5 Please download an animal ethics form from theCharles Darwin University website and complete as much of the form as possible for field work at CDNP. We will discuss this procedure during our next online discussion.