Wildlife and Small Institutions Animal Ethics Committee
Public access Wildlife and Small Institutions (WSI) Animal Ethics Committee (AEC)
Agriculture Victoria has established the Wildlife and Small Institutions Animal Ethics Committee (WSIAEC) to provide for small institutions or organisations unable to maintain a viable AEC.
There are two streams of access to the WSIAEC dependent on the type of animal use that is proposed. Organisations or individuals wishing to access the services of the WSIAEC must apply to Agriculture Victoria for such access. The WSIAEC will only approve projects and activities undertaken in the state of Victoria.
Unrestricted access
The Wildlife and Small Institutions Animal Ethics Committee (WSIAEC) is an Animal Ethics Committee for the purposes of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (POCTA Act)and provides services to scientific procedures licence holders using animals for research or teaching, and specified animals breeding licence holders. Applicants wishing to nominate the WSIAEC to perform AEC functions for their licence must obtain approval to access the committee before nominating the WSIAEC in a licence application.
WSIAEC unrestricted access application form 
[MS Word Document - 77.0 KB]
Restricted access
Additionally, the WSIAEC provides services to individuals undertaking collection, taking, banding and marking of wildlife for research purposes. These applicants are exempt from licensing under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986, but must hold a research permit issued by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) in accordance with section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975. Permit applicants are required to seek approval from an AEC for proposed research activities prior to submitting an application to DELWP.
WSIAEC restricted access application form [MS Word Document - 73.8 KB]
For more information on exempt types of animal use please refer to the weblink below:
WSIAEC forms and procedures
WSIAEC Terms of Reference 
[PDF File - 435.2 KB]
WSIAEC Terms of Reference [MS Word Document - 273.4 KB]
WSIAEC Procedures for complaint; non-compliance
and unexpected adverse event [PDF File - 429.0 KB]
WSIAEC meeting dates
2017
- February 15
- March 22
- May 17
- June 21
- August 9
- September 20
- November 29
2018
- February 14
- March 14
- May 9
- June 27
- August 8
- September 12
- December 5
For more information on the WSIAEC contact
Agriculture Victoria
Executive Officer
Wildlife and Small Institutions Animal Ethics Committee
475 Mickleham Road Attwood Victoria 3049
Phone: 9217 4429
Email: wsi.aec@ecodev.vic.gov.au
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