Ensuring the ethical, humane and responsible use of animals in health and medical research forms part of the sector’s social licence to operate in Australia.
The 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement) are accepted internationally as critical components of the ethical, humane and responsible care and use of animals for scientific purposes.
| Replacement | Methods that permit a given purpose of an activity or project to be achieved without the use of animals. |
|---|---|
| Reduction | Methods for obtaining comparable levels of information from the use of fewer animals in scientific procedures or for obtaining more information from the same number of animals. The number of animals used must satisfy good statistical design. The use of too few animals may invalidate experimental results and cause wastage of animals. |
| Refinement | Methods that alleviate or minimise potential pain and distress in animals, and enhance animal wellbeing. |
The 3Rs underpin the requirements in the Australian code for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes. All institutions, animal ethics committees (AECs), investigators and animal carers need to be aware of their responsibilities:
- All those involved have a responsibility to ensure the consideration and implementation of alternative approaches that do not use animals (Replacement).
- If the use of animals is the only way to obtain the necessary information, those involved have a responsibility to ensure that the studies are of the highest quality, and are designed to:
- involve the smallest number of animals necessary to achieve the study’s aims and to satisfy good statistical design (Reduction)
- support and safeguard animal wellbeing (Refinement).
NHMRC’s Expectations
Under NHMRC's Funding Agreement, and as outlined in the Code, NHMRC requires:
- Institutions to ensure, through the AEC, that the 3Rs are applied at all stages of animal care and use
- Researchers to apply the 3Rs throughout all stages of the research cycle including the development of the research question and the design, conduct, analysis and reporting of research.
Research Funding
Applications to NHMRC schemes can focus on the development and validation of models, methods, tools and methodologies to replace, reduce or refine animal use. Proposals for funding must meet the specific NHMRC’s Grant Program scheme criteria, and must demonstrate a direct relationship with, or significance for, improvement in human health.
Resources
The 3Rs in Australia
NHMRC’s Information Paper: Implementation of the 3Rs in Australia (2019) identified practices, strengths and opportunities for improvements in the implementation of the 3Rs in Australia.
NHMRC’s 3Rs survey (2018) reported on how the 3Rs are understood, considered and implemented in Australia. The survey report and appendices are available under ‘Downloads’ below.
CSIRO Report: Non-animal models: A strategy for maturing Australia’s medical product development capabilities (2023). Non-animal models use human-derived or humanised cells, tissues, or data. These models are becoming increasingly sophisticated and are surpassing the performance of traditional animal models at anticipating the safety and efficacy of novel medical products. In collaboration with industry, research and government partners, CSIRO produced the report: Non-animal models: A strategy for maturing Australia’s medical product development capabilities (2023). NHMRC sponsored and contributed to the development of this report, which assesses the potential of non-animal models to complement or replace traditional animal models for medical product development.
International 3Rs Centres
International 3Rs Centres are a source of information about current and emerging 3Rs methods and techniques that can be used by Australian researchers:
- Canadian Council on Animal Care: Three Rs
- Danish 3R-Centre
- EU Reference Laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL ECVAM)
- Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods (ICCVAM)
- Johns Hopkins University Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT)
- National Centre for the Replacement Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) (UK)
- Norwegian Consensus-Platform for Alternatives (NORECOPA)
Enquiries
For further information, please contact animal-ethics@nhmrc.gov.au.
