Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004

Prohibited and regulated activities - Activities requiring approval of ethics committee - Matters to be considered and decided by ethics committee

20: Person responsible for activity

You could also call this:

"Who is in charge of making sure everything is done correctly during an activity"

Illustration for Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act 2004

When an ethics committee is considering an activity, they must choose a person to be in charge of it. This person is nominated under section 18(1)(d) and the committee must approve them before the activity can start. You need to know that this person is responsible for making sure the activity is done correctly.

If the person in charge of an activity cannot do their job, the activity must stop until a new person is approved by the ethics committee. The new person is nominated by the agency that applied for approval under section 18. The committee must choose someone who can do the job properly.

Before the ethics committee approves a new person, they must make sure that person can follow the guidelines and is willing to take responsibility for the activity. The person in charge must be a real person, not an organisation or company.

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This page was last updated on 6 August 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM319327.

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19: Approval of assisted reproductive procedure or research, or

"Getting permission to help people have babies using special medical procedures or research"

21: Ethics committee may change conditions, or

"The ethics committee can change the rules for something that's already been approved."

Part 2Prohibited and regulated activities
Activities requiring approval of ethics committee: Matters to be considered and decided by ethics committee

20Person responsible for activity

Before the ethics committee gives an approval for an activity, it must approve a person nominated under section 18(1)(d) as the person responsible for the activity to be undertaken under the approval.
If, at any time, the person responsible for an activity undertaken under an approval is, for any reason, unable or unwilling to perform the person's duties, the activity under the approval must be suspended until the ethics committee concerned approves, or 1 or more members of the committee authorised by the committee in that behalf approve, another person nominated by the agency that applied for that approval under section 18 as the person responsible for the activity.
Before the ethics committee approves a person under this section, the committee must be satisfied that the person—
is able to ensure that the activity concerned will be undertaken in a manner that is consistent with relevant guidelines or relevant advice issued by the advisory committee; and
is willing to assume responsibility for the activity.

Every person appointed under this section must be a natural person.