26 November 2025
With expressions of interest for the Co-Chairs of HTQ’s Human Research Ethics and Governance (HREG) Collaborative Group closing soon, we asked the departing Chair, Sara Hubbard, about the highlights and challenges of the past 2 years.
Leading with purpose
As the Research Governance Officer at the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service, Ms Hubbard explained she was not an obvious choice for the Chair role.
“My organisation is not a HTQ partner, but my appointment as Chair reinforces the group’s collegial, networked approach,” Ms Hubbard said.
“I was an active and vocal contributor to the HREG Collaborative Group before becoming Chair in 2023. It was a space where research governance officers could share, learn, and problem-solve together.
“The HREG Collaborative Group is a robust network of committed and passionate members. Each person cares deeply about the work they do and the quality of research in their patch, which creates an appetite for collaboration and continual improvement.
“We work best through relationships, and how we engage with each other reflects how we serve our communities.
“In our line of work, our clients are not just patients and families, but our academic and clinical researchers and as Chair, I aimed to keep them at the forefront of why we do what we do.”
The challenges of harmonising ethics and governance
Ms Hubbard said the diversity of HTQ partners is a challenge to harmonising ethics and governance, but it also offers a significant opportunity.
“We learnt from listening to many different perspectives and discovered other ways to do our work, which often improved work practices,” Ms Hubbard said.
“I believe we’ve made processes a little more consistent across the ethics and governance space in Queensland. It’s a challenging space, especially in rural, remote and regional areas, where service delivery is very specific, and we have smaller workforces and often combined or multi-layered roles.
“By continuing to take small steps towards similar practice, we’ll have a big impact in harmonising ethics and governance at the end of the day.”
Creating a lasting impact
The HREG Collaborative Group contributes significantly to initiatives like HTQ’s Research Passport Agreement, the annual HREC conferences, and decision-support tools.
A firm believer in bringing people up around you, Ms Hubbard explained how the group works together to develop and achieve impact.
“They create leverage from each other’s strengths and expertise to deliver fabulous initiatives.
“HTQ should be proud that 2 state-based Communities of Practice – for the Queensland HREC Chairs and Queensland Research Integrity – have been borne from their leadership and the collegiality that the HTQ Collaborative Groups have nurtured.”
A new direction
In 2025, HTQ decided to create co-chairs for the HREG Collaborative Group – an academic representative and a health services representative – a move that Ms Hubbard said will help support a balance of voices.
“I would encourage the co-chairs to continue to value the expertise and experience of this group and focus on scalable change, starting small and building on success,” Ms Hubbard said.
While Ms Hubbard will remain involved in the HREG Collaborative Group, she is also moving in a new direction – co-chairing a Queensland Health research forum sub-committee focused on remote, regional and rural health, and building on her passion for supporting health researchers on the ground in remote locations.
“I am confident the HREG Collaborative Group will continue to drive improvements in ethics and governance that ultimately improve the health of all Queenslanders.”
For more information about the HTQ HREG Collaborative Group, please visit the HTQ web page.
If you are interested in becoming one of the Co-Chairs of HTQ’s Human Research Ethics and Governance (HREG) Collaborative Group, express your interest by emailing research@healthtranslationqld.org.au.
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