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Housing and holding animals

You must consult the Manager of Griffith Biosciences Resources Facility prior to submitting your application if animals are to be housed on campus. All facilities to be used for housing animals must receive AEC approval. If your proposed research will include the holding of animals for any length of time, it’s mandatory to monitor your animals, and to document the monitoring. These documents can be requested by the AEC. Please submit an animal monitoring and clinical welfare scoresheet with your animal ethics application. This animal monitoring and clinical welfare scoresheet templates document provides several examples which can be used, but should be adapted to the specific animal model and clinical setting of individual projects. .

Off-campus (field) animal use

If the research proposed involves animals used in the field or in satellite facilities, animal use should be recorded through the use of a Fieldwork Animal Monitoring Record. This record must include the information provided on the Fieldwork Animal Monitoring Record template.

Investigators using animals in the field or in satellite facilities are required to submit a template of their proposed monitoring records with their applications so that the AEC can ensure that the data collected complies with relevant legislation and is in a form that is suitable for collecting and verifying the animal use statistics that the AEC is required to submit to regulators and external auditing bodies.

Animal Ethics Scope Checker

Researchers can check whether their project requires animal ethics approval by commencing a new ethics application in RIMS, going to the ‘Questionnaire’ Tab and answering the initial questions presented. If an applicant responds ‘Yes’ to any of the questions 1 through 4, the proposed project falls outside the scope of the University’s animal ethics requirements, the applicant will be notified as such and the questionnaire will be complete. Although you may have been advised by the system that animal ethics approval is not required (Outside of Scope or Exempt), you are still required to submit the completed application.

Please contact animal-ethics@griffith.edu.au if you require further clarification regarding the need for animal ethics approval or would like to request an exemption notification.

RIMS

Griffith has a database system called RIMS (Research Information Management System). This system enables all Animal Ethics Applications, Investigator Responses, Scope Checking, Variations and Reports to be submitted and managed within one database. The RIMS Application system can be accessed on the top of this page.

All applications (excluding those determined to be out of scope or exempt applications) are reviewed by the Griffith University Animal Ethics Committee.

Applications are completed online with a number of tabs in RIMS requiring completion. The Questionnaire Tab is ‘smart’ (in that it presents questions relevant to the particular protocol), and offers contextual help. The progress of an application can be tracked online via RIMS .

The following tabs require completion:

• Coversheet
• Questionnaire
• Animal Usage
• Location (if animals are to be housed on campus)
• Documents (upload your protocol, Team Member Table, score sheets, permits, approvals from other AECs, a Fieldwork Animal Monitoring Record here)

Download the Microsoft Word version of the questions that are part of the application process to assist you with preparing your submission in RIMS .