The research landscape continues to evolve. Societal, political, economic and technological shifts are redefining the roles and expectations of researchers and research ethics committees. The implications of innovation in a rapidly changing world are challenging existing paradigms and uncovering new trails of ethical consideration. 

More than ever before, researchers are being asked to consider the merit, integrity and impact of their research. They must grapple with foundational shifts in public expectation and the rapid erosion of public trust, to communicate with transparency, collaborate meaningfully, and engage responsibly with disruptive technologies. Beyond this, they must demonstrate respect for privacy in an age where global connectivity has exponentially increased the availability of human data whilst simultaneously blurring the lines of consent. 

With this, the burden is falling to research ethics committees to become experts at lightspeed, to broaden their knowledge and holistically assess the ethical implications of research in this ever expanding context. However, the pace of change requires them to go beyond traditional approaches. They must apply existing ethics guidelines and templates to increasingly complex and sometimes unprecedented scenarios, offering guidance to those navigating this challenging environment. 

The AEN conference will provide a forum for exploring the shifting roles of researchers and research ethics committees, and how they can effectively address emerging challenges, many of which are unfolding in ways not yet understood. Novel research, methods and technology are not going to stop and wait for us to catch up, so join us in Newcastle this November 2025 as we seek to navigate this evolving landscape that leads us ever further into uncharted territories.  

Navigating the evolving landscape of ethics in research and innovation requires a fundamental change in our approach to collaborating with others, be they fellow researchers, communities, industry, government agencies, or not-for-profit organisations. This subtheme will delve into the necessity of moving beyond traditional, top-down engagement and to explore the integration of those with lived experience and representatives from diverse sectors and perspectives throughout the research lifecycle. Ethical research hinges on our ability to meaningfully engage and consult, co-design, and co-create with others, treating them as equal and active partners. 

Against these ideals, many research processes and management systems remain underdeveloped and often ill-equipped to support truly collaborative approaches. This contributes to the time pressures associated with negotiating with research partners while simultaneously needing to address governance requirements. There is an urgent need to transform research to be more inclusive, ethical, and impactful in fostering beneficial relationships and outcomes with our collaborators. This subtheme will explore strategies for transforming research practices to better support collaborative consumer and community-driven research. Key areas of focus will include: 

● Consumer & Community involvement and co-design research methodologies 

● Creating a research environment that supports consumer and community involvement 

● Respecting and embracing Indigenous knowledge and cultural and intellectual property, and data sovereignty 

● Industry partnerships and research commercialisation

Research integrity is often missing from discussions about research ethics. Yet it is an integral aspect of real-world research. What do researchers do when no-one is looking? 

This subtheme explores how today’s research environment raises critical issues for research integrity. How do we meet the challenges of credibility and trustworthiness of research as we grapple with the rise of papermills, predatory journals and the ‘publish or perish’ culture that drives perceptions of research impact? How can research organisations tackle the task of navigating data integrity, financial transparency and research misconduct in ever more fiscally hard times? And how can they train and uplift researchers to conduct research with integrity and embrace movements like Open Science to navigate these issues? In this subtheme we ask researchers, research managers and ethics committees to confront research integrity and to reflect on how we uphold the responsible conduct of Australasian research.  

This subtheme will explore the ethics of doing research with disruptive technologies such as radical new therapies, social media and AI and how researchers and ethics committees must adapt to meet these challenges. 

‘Technological solutionism’, the notion that technology can solve complex human problems is pervasive, and as a society we embrace new technologies with voracious zeal. The opportunities offered by technology are vast, from understanding humans at a genetic level, to the permanent connectedness between all of us, the empowerment of every voice through social media and the inescapable allure of letting computers do our thinking for us. But such opportunities exact a cost to our privacy, agency and wellbeing as changes continue to rush toward, and sometimes past, us. Human research is not immune from disruptive technologies. 

The onslaught of time has brought unrelenting and often surreptitious data collection, which threatens to undermine privacy and dignity, especially in digital spaces. Social media, for instance, serves as our new town square, hoarding our information under the auspices of lengthy, and often unread terms and conditions. Similarly, AI systems harvest and process human data with little regard for the notion of consent. The widespread availability of these data creates the illusion that they are a ‘free good’ open for exploitation by researchers without reflection on their human origins or the ethical principles of respect, justice, and beneficence. In this environment, human research ethics and integrity face significant challenges. How can we operate effectively when data is collected on a massive scale in exchange for services, and consent is treated as an afterthought, if it is considered at all? How can we ensure that our technology-driven future safeguards human agency, dignity, and our very humanity?  

This subtheme probes the complexities of obtaining and respecting consent. In an era where traditional models of consent are being tested by advances in technology, shifting cultural norms, and new research methodologies, researchers are increasingly called upon to mitigate ethical risks arising from data privacy issues, digital surveillance, and the intricacies of informed consent in virtual and interconnected environments. Conversely, some perennial “off-line” challenges are subject to new levels of scrutiny and heightened standards of care: examples include studies of family violence for which consent must be negotiated within situations of high stress and high stakes; work in remote communities for which consent has both individual and communal elements; and work in settings where questions of capacity and agency are in play. We invite wide-ranging engagement with the subject of consent, with the aim of identifying strategies for upholding ethical standards while supporting rather than obstructing transformative research. Join us as we explore new approaches to consent and address the challenges it presents in an increasingly dynamic world. 

● Preconference Workshops - Thursday, 5 June 2025

● Oral Presentations - Thursday, 5 June 2025

● Preconference Workshops - late June 2025

● Oral Presentations - late June 2025