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The South Australian Animal Welfare Act 1985 regulates all use of animals for research, teaching, or experimentation in South Australia.

PIRSA's Licence under this Act authorises use of animals subject to the following conditions:-

• The acquisition and use of animals for research or teaching must not commence before:-

(a) all information requested by the PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee has been supplied; and
(b) approval has been granted by the PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee.

• Adequate care, housing and handling is maintained.

• Proper and adequate post-procedural care, including appropriate veterinary attention must be provided for the animals.

• Animals must be treated humanely and in accordance with the Act and Regulations and all procedures are to be carried out in accordance with the Australian Code of Practice for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes. (The current 6^th edition 1997 is published by the National Health & Medical Research Council).

All use of animals by PIRSA personnel or holding of animals on PIRSA premises must be approved by the PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee before commencement. In this context, use and holding includes:-

• the use or involvement of animals in research projects or experiments, irrespective of the site involved or the source of funding;

• holding, breeding or any other keeping of animals;

• fieldwork, including capture and release after marking.

In the case of collaborative projects (across institutions), animal ethics approval is required by each Institute's Animal Ethics Committee.

In general, the Animal Ethics Committees have a high level of agreement in accepting one another's forms which simplifies the process of submitting to multiple institutions, (it is suggested that applications be made to the necessary committees at the same time using duplicates of the same application). PIRSA University degree candidates require ethical clearance by the PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee as well as the University's Animal Ethics Committee.

Written proposals should place before the AEC sufficient information to satisfy the AEC that the proposed use of animals is justified and complies with the principles of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.

Written proposals should be presented on the PIRSA AEC Form and in a form that allows the AEC to easily assess information provided. They should be written in a manner that can be understood by all members of the AEC and must identify the impact of all sections of the proposal on animals used and means by which the impact will be minimised. (Refer Code of Practice, 2.2.9 and 2.2.10).

The PIRSA AEC application form is available to download, or by post from  Lyn Beaumont-Clark, Executive Officer, PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee, Roseworthy Campus, SA 5371; phone 8303 7665, fax 8303 7663, email lyn.beaumont-clark@sa.gov.au.

The application form seeks information from applicants in order to meet the requirements of the Code of Practice (refer pages 13 and 14 regarding written proposals). Applicants should be familiar with the contents of the Code before completing the application form. The Code is available on line at: www.health.gov.au/nhmrc/research/awc/code.htm.

The application form is designed primarily in relation to research projects. It may not be entirely appropriate for a teaching submission but should be used as a guide to the details required for ethical consideration of the work.

Deadline dates for submission are available here, or by email or post. Late applications will be held till the next round of business.

Submission Fee - from 1 July 1999 a charges have been set against each project/program submission reviewed by the PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee.

When you lodge submissions after 1/7/99 please include a debit code to facilitate Journal Transfers to be made by the end of May each year.

It is recommended that you factor into your new project submissions extra operating to cover this fee.

1. Please direct enquiries, correspondence and completed applications to Lyn Beaumont-Clark, Executive Officer, PIRSA Animal Ethics Committee, Roseworthy Campus, SA 5371; phone 8303 7665, fax 8303 7663, email lyn.beaumont-clark@sa.gov.au. Please note that all applications need to be received electronically, but signed copies can be posted as well.
2. The original signed application is required to enable circulation to Committee members. Use the correct form "Full Proposal" form if seeking full approval or select "In Principle" form if wishing the AEC committee to offer their agreement to your concept whilst you await full funding approval.

3. If the work is linked with an application for support by a funding body, please attach a copy of that project application to the original form. DO NOT submit a full R&D proposal to a R&D Corporation without approval for the work from the PIRSA AEC. This also applies to commercially contracted research work.

Refer to "Approval Process for New Projects" guidelines and flow-chart .

4. Please ensure that full information is provided in the application. Boxes in the form can be re-sized to accommodate your answers. Otherwise, please attach separate pages if necessary.
5. In the case of a student project, the supervisor should be the applicant.
6. Please give the "common" name of animal species as well as the scientific name.
7. It is necessary to list all drugs to be administered including dose and route:-

(a) use generic names at all times; brand names may be included;
(b) doses may be specified giving an expected range (eg 2-8 mg/kg daily);
(c) special diets, and dietary additives must be specified and quantified.

8. Some species of animal are more communal than others and the Committee is advised that isolation of such animals causes stress. On that basis the Committee's expectation is that sheep, deer and rats (for example) will not be housed in individual pens/cages. The Committee recognises that there are circumstances in which individual housing is acceptable or preferable, and applicants need to provide justification for individual housing in responding to question 2 in the form.
9. The Principal Research Officer or Chief Scientist will be required to countersign the application form before submission for ethics approval, and to assume responsibility for ensuring that the procedures are carried out in accordance with final ethical approval. Nevertheless, applicants have direct and ultimate responsibility for all matters related to the welfare of their animals and must act in accordance with all the requirements of the Code.
10. The application for approval covers the whole project and, while it is not necessary to make a separate application for each experiment within the project, the detailed description of the proposed experiments and the answers to particular questions should adequately cover all experiments within the project.
11. Activities involving the use of animals must not start before written approval is obtained from all the Animal Ethics Committees involved.
12. It is necessary to apply in writing to the Committee for extension to approval if an approved project is to continue for a longer period of time, if additional animals are required or if amendment to the protocol is proposed.
13. No new application can be approved other than at a meeting of the Committee. The Committee's Executive may only approve minor modification to a project when the case is urgent.
14. Animal Ethics Committee approval is required before animal holding space is allocated and before animals are supplied. Ethical approval of a project does not guarantee that the animals, or space for holding them, will be available; it is for the applicant to ensure this availability.
15. The Committee may make random inspections of animal holding facilities, laboratories and experiments in order to determine compliance with the approval conditions.
16. Statistical information regarding use of animals must be provided to the Committee annually. This is collected on a calendar year basis and collated for report to the Minister responsible for animal welfare. Forms are available for these reports to be written on and research are encouraged to sumbit their funding body report as well.
17. All unexpected animal deaths or any adverse or unforseen circumstances arising from approved projects must be reported promptly to the Committee.