NHREC – Committees – National Department of Health

NHREC Committee Structure

To effectively fulfil its statutory functions, the NHREC operates through several standing committees. These committees support the Council’s work through dedicated focus areas and report to the full Council, which meets quarterly. The current standing committees are:

Complaints and Queries Committee (CAQC)
Norms and Standards Committee (NASC)
Quality Promotion and Enhancement Committee (QPEC)
Animals in Research Committee (AiRCom)

The Executive Committee (EXCO), composed of the Council Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson, and chairs of the standing committees, oversees matters between Council meetings.

Complaints and Queries Committee (CAQC)

The CAQC is responsible for managing and adjudicating complaints relating to RECs. Its mandate includes:

Establishing formal procedures for handling complaints.
Recommending investigations and possible disciplinary action.
Referring professional misconduct to relevant councils.
Hearing complaints from researchers who feel unfairly treated by a REC.

Complaints or requests for guidance must be submitted using the official Queries and Complaints Form, available on this website.

Norms and Standards Committee (NASC)

The NASC develops and promotes ethical norms and standards for health research. Key functions include:

Setting national norms and standards for health research including clinical trials (Section 72(6)(c) of the NHA).
Promoting awareness of South Africa’s ethico-legal research framework.
Ensuring protection of human research participants.
Facilitate research ethics information sharing with the RECs and entities providing research ethics training, and publicising recommended guidance on the NHREC website.

Quality Promotion and Enhancement Committee (QPEC)

QPEC ensures the quality and compliance of RECs through:

Developing criteria for REC registration and oversight.
Managing registration processes and maintaining the public REC register.
Overseeing audits and review of annual reports submitted by RECs.
Coordinate, monitor and evaluate annual reports from RECs.

Animals in Research Committee (AiRCom)

AiRCom oversees ethical standards in research involving animals. Its responsibilities include:

Developing and promoting norms and standards for ethical animal research.
Supporting ARECs (Animal RECs) and advising NHREC on animal research matters.
Promoting implementation of ethical analysis in animal research.

Executive Committee (EXCO) of NHREC for 2025

Position	Name
Chairperson of NHREC	Prof P Engel-Hills
Deputy Chairperson	Prof S Singh
CAQC Chair	Prof L Qalinge
NASC Chair	Dr D Diale
QPEC Chair	Dr C Chauke
AiRCom Chair	Prof T Brink