Openness Agreement
Background
The ANZCCART Openness Agreement(external link) supports and promotes public understanding of why and how animals may be used in research and teaching, how this work is regulated in Aotearoa New Zealand, and what organisations do to promote animal welfare, reduce animal use, and minimise harm. For NMIT, this means communicating clearly about our responsibilities as an education provider and ensuring that any animal use is carefully justified, ethically reviewed, and aligned with relevant legislation and our Code of Ethical Conduct.
Following the transition from Te Pūkenga, NMIT continues to uphold the commitment made to the Openness Agreement. As a stand-alone institution, we remain responsible for ensuring that our research and teaching practices involving animals are transparent, ethical, and consistent with our values, including respect, manaakitanga, and care for animal welfare.
NMIT’s Commitment to the Openness Agreement
At NMIT, our commitment reflects our responsibility to maintain high standards of animal welfare while supporting high-quality research and teaching. Where animals are used, we are committed to being open, transparent, and accountable about why and how this occurs, including when expected standards are not met.
The objective of the Openness Agreement is to help our communities, stakeholders, tangata whenua, learners, staff, and the wider public understand the purpose, regulation, and ethical oversight of any research or teaching involving animals.
This includes explaining how animal welfare is promoted, how animal use is reduced where possible, and how suffering and harm are minimised.
“We will communicate clearly about the context in which animal research and teaching may take place at NMIT, how the Three Rs are applied and how our Animal Ethics Committee support ethical practice, animal welfare, and continuous improvement.”
History of the Openness Agreement
The Openness Agreement was developed by the New Zealand Board of the Australian and New Zealand Council for the Care of Animals in Research and Teaching (ANZCCART), a Committee of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. It provides a national framework for organisations to explain their use of animals in research and teaching clearly and responsibly.
A draft version of the Agreement was consulted on in 2020/21 and launched at the ANZCCART 2021 conference on 27 July 2021. More information can be found in the press release(external link) about the launch of the Openness Agreement.
ANZCCART(external link) was established in 1993 and is a standing committee of the Royal Society Te Apārangi.
