The Collective

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The Collective was established to meet the growing demand for independent ethics review across New Zealand's government, private and community research sectors. As research activity has expanded, so too has the need for timely, high-quality ethics review that supports researchers while protecting the rights, wellbeing and interests of participants.

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Building on the legacy of the Aotearoa Research Ethics Committee (AREC, formerly the New Zealand Ethics Committee), The Collective continues a researcher-centred approach to ethics review while operating as a not-for-profit organisation. This model enables us to fairly remunerate our experienced ethics committee members and chairs, ensuring a sustainable service that delivers timely, independent and comprehensive review without compromising quality.​​

The Collective is committed to delivering high-quality, independent and transparent ethics review. We maintain our standards through strong governance, continuous quality assurance and alignment with nationally recognised ethical frameworks.

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• Independent governance through an Advisory Board that oversees our policies, procedures and quality assurance programme, including audits of randomly selected ethics reviews.

• Continuous quality improvement through regular review of our processes, committee performance and decision-making to ensure consistency and best practice.

• Commitment to national standards, with our ethics review processes informed by key New Zealand guidance, including Te Ara Tika, the National Ethics Advisory Committee (NEAC) guidance, and the Royal Society Te Apārangi Code of Professional Standards and Ethics.

• External recognition, with an application currently under consideration for approval as an Institutional Ethics Committee under the Health Research Council of New Zealand's approval process.