Tracy Mills
Summary
Strategic research integrity professional with extensive experience in ethics review, compliance management, and policy implementation across human, animal, and biosafety research. Skilled in interpreting legislation, managing risk, and leading system and process reforms that strengthen institutional integrity and accountability. Recognized for fostering transparent, ethical research cultures, and delivering high-impact improvements to governance systems.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Ethics Subject Matter Expert
Western Sydney University
09.2022 - Current
- Appointed as institutional subject matter expert to oversee ethics governance and compliance requirements during implementation of new research management systems.
- Two project phases: initial implementation with Research Master in 2022; current phase with EndPoint IQ starting in 2024.
- Act as the key liaison between the Research Management System (RMS) project team and ethics operations, ensuring that new system functionality aligns with institutional research integrity requirements.
- Provide expert advice on human ethics, animal ethics, and biosafety/radiation processes, including system design, workflow mapping, and integration with existing governance frameworks.
- Lead the review of process documentation, user stories, and system specifications to confirm compliance with university and national ethical standards.
- Contribute to the development of 'as-is' and 'to-be' business models, identifying opportunities to streamline ethics administration, and enhance researcher experience.
- Coordinate ethics data migration, validating data quality and supporting the design of sustainable system structures for long-term integrity oversight.
- Conduct user acceptance testing (UAT), and provided feedback to ensure new tools met operational needs for ethics management and compliance monitoring.
- Support the ethics team’s day-to-day operations, including mentoring staff, ensuring business continuity, and advising on best practices in ethics governance.
- Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders—including project managers, IT teams, senior research leaders, and vendors—to resolve complex issues and align project outcomes with the university's values of integrity, fairness, and excellence.
- Advocate for research integrity and ethical conduct throughout project implementation, fostering a culture of accountability and transparency.
Human Research Ethics Officer
Western Sydney University
Penrith, Australia
02.2017 - Current
- Coordinate human ethics review processes for three committees, ensuring compliance with various guidelines, including the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research and the AIATSIS Code of Ethics for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research.
- Supervise one ongoing staff member, and provide ongoing training, guidance, and workload coordination for a pool of casual staff supporting the ethics review process.
- Provide authoritative advice to researchers and committees on complex ethical, legal, and risk issues.
- Review draft applications to identify risk and potential breaches of the National Statement.
- Investigate and report on suspected breaches of protocol and research misconduct, develop recommendations for resolution.
- Manage externally driven complaints about the conduct of research.
- Draft complex and highly sensitive correspondence relating to committee deliberations and decisions.
- Deliver training and education to researchers, supervisors, and HDR candidates on ethics and integrity principles.
- Monitor researcher compliance with external reporting requirements
- Ensure records pertaining to ethics are accurate and maintained as per Records Management guidelines.
Research Scholarships Development Officer
Western Sydney University
Penrith, Australia
05.2002 - 01.2017
- Recruit new scholarship candidates, including the development of advertising materials and maintenance of a recruitment database.
- Provide high-level advice to applicants, academics, and external agencies.
- Assess applications against an approved metric (qualifications, research experience).
- Provide expert advice to senior leaders at ranking meetings to assist in the selection of appropriate candidates.
- Manage the onboarding of successful candidates, including sending offers, managing enrollment, overseas health care, and relocation issues.
- Draft Conditions of Award in line with funding scheme rules.
- Maintain a scholarship database with information about current scholarships, including personal details, financial information, conditions of award, variations of scholarship, and/or candidature.
- Provide advice to staff and candidates about scholarship conditions and entitlements.
- Assess and process applications for variations of scholarships (suspensions, leave, and other variations that may affect the conditions of the scholarship).
- Interpret internal and external policy and guidelines to ensure scholarships are awarded within the parameters of requirements and regulations (e.g., government departments, funding bodies/organizations, and the Australian Taxation Office).
- Manage scholarship finances, including budgets, payroll, accruals, and acquittals.
- Provide reports and other information as required to the WSU committees and senior staff (e.g., Dean of Graduate Studies, Western Sydney Scholarship Ranking Panel, HDR Directors, School committees).
Education
Core: Ethics For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Research -
AIATSIS
07-2025
All Mandated Staff Training Completed -
Western Sydney University
01-2025
Bachelor of Arts - History, Politics and Philosophy
Western Sydney University
01.2002
Skills
- Research integrity governance and compliance
- Policy development and implementation
- Risk assessment and mitigation
- Investigation of research breaches and complaints
- Systems thinking and process improvement
- Stakeholder engagement and training
- Data integrity and record-keeping
- Change management in digital research systems
References
- Helen Jones, Assoc Director of Research Infrastructure & Systems, Western Sydney University, h.jones2@westernsydney.edu.au
- Assoc. Prof. Kristy Coxon, Chair of the Human Research Ethics Committee at Western Sydney University, k.coxon@westernsydney.edu.au
- Assoc. Prof. Gabrielle Weidemann, Interim Dean, School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, g.weidemann@westernsydney.edu.au
Timeline
Ethics Subject Matter Expert
Western Sydney University
09.2022 - Current
Human Research Ethics Officer
Western Sydney University
02.2017 - Current
Research Scholarships Development Officer
Western Sydney University
05.2002 - 01.2017
Core: Ethics For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Research -
AIATSIS
All Mandated Staff Training Completed -
Western Sydney University
Bachelor of Arts - History, Politics and Philosophy
Western Sydney University