Inquiries and Complaints

A breach of the CCR is a failure to adhere to the principles (cl 6) and responsibilities (cls 7-11) of the CCR.

There is a spectrum of breaches of the CCR. Some can be minor and relate, for example, to administrative errors, and be easily resolved. Other breaches may be more serious in nature and may be regarded as research misconduct.

The CCR defines research misconduct as ‘a serious breach of the CCR which is also intentional, or reckless, or negligent’.

Serious breaches include, but are not restricted to:

• Fabricating, falsifying and/or misrepresenting data or source material
• Plagiarism
• Failing to declare or manage a conflict of interest
• Concealing or facilitating research misconduct by others
• Failing to follow conditions of approval of research as set by a research ethics committee, particularly where this might result in unreasonable risk or harm to humans, animals or the environment.

It’s in everyone’s interests for you to seek information as soon as you become aware there may be an issue.

Your first point of contact should be a Research Integrity Advisor (RIA).

If you’re asking for advice about research conduct rules, the RIA will be able talk you through Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research (2018) (ACRCR 2018), the CCR and the Procedures for Investigating Research Conduct Breaches and Related Complaints (Procedures).

They will listen to what you have to say and, if you decide you want to make a formal complaint, tell you how to go about it.

The RIA gives you advice about research conduct, but they won’t predict the outcome should you go ahead with a complaint.

They won’t try to mediate or resolve your concerns or contact the subject of the complaint.

If the RIA believes what you’re reporting might be a potentially serious or major breach of the CCR, however, they are obliged to report it to the Research Integrity Office (RIO).

You don’t have to go to an RIA to make a complaint or seek information.

You could make your complaint directly to the RIO at researchintegrity@une.edu.au.

If your concern is related to human or animal research ethics, you should first contact the Chair of the Human Research Ethics Committee through humanethics@une.edu.au or the Chair of the Animal Research Ethics Committee through animalethics@une.edu.au .

No. But if you don’t, it might mean someone gets away with doing the wrong thing, which is not good for research and can be very damaging to UNE’s reputation.

So UNE encourages staff to report a possible breach to help maintain high standards of professional conduct that align with accepted practices in their disciplines, the codes of relevant funding bodies and legislative requirements.

You can, but remember that UNE can only act on the information it receives. If the RIO needs further information about the complaint (as is often the case), it would have no way of contacting you and so no way of making any progress with the complaint.

You can nevertheless make an anonymous complaint by:

• Sending a written complaint by mail to the Research Integrity Office
• Sending an email to researchintegrity@une.edu.au from an email address that doesn’t identify you
• Posting a written complaint in the DVCR (Deputy Vice Chancellor Research) mailbox just inside the door at Research Services (Level 3 TC Lamble Building).

You don’t have to go through the UNE complaints process. You can approach any of these agencies, but bear in mind they might refer you back to UNE complaint processes:

• NSW Ombudsman
• Independent Commission against Corruption (NSW ICAC)
• NSW Police Force (only for criminal matters)
• Information and Privacy Commission.

There are three things to bear in mind when you’re thinking about making a complaint:

• Don’t leave it too late – the sooner you lodge a complaint, the quicker the issue is likely to be resolved; the people involved may be able to explain what they perceive has happened and the records may be readily available.
• Remain respectful – RIOs and other people handling your complaint are there to support you throughout the process; while you might be dissatisfied about something, it helps to be able to communicate your concerns with courtesy and respect
• Maintain confidentiality – In fairness to all parties it is important that the details of the complaint stay confidential.

You lodge it in writing with the UNE Research Integrity Office at researchintegrity@une.edu.au.

You’ll receive an acknowledgment of your complaint, usually within five working days.

If a complaint gets to the Preliminary Assessment stage, you will have the chance to respond to the allegations against you verbally and in writing.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome or the way your complaint was handled by the University, you can lodge an external review with any of the following agencies.

• NSW Ombudsman - for a procedural review
• Australian Research Integrity Committee - for an external review of any investigative processes into potential breaches of the Code

Please be aware that the University will not accept complaints which are:

• Vexatious or malicious,
• Trivial in nature,
• Lacking sufficient information to enable a proper investigation.