A variety of hazardous materials, conditions and processes are present in the Harry Perkins laboratories and care must be taken to protect visitors from exposure to these hazards. To protect against contamination or exposure, all individuals visiting the laboratories must adhere to these regulations.

All Perkins labs are certified PC2 lab environments.

Please read the following information carefully and watch the short video to learn how to protect yourself, and the valuable work being carried out inside the Perkins laboratories.

(Please note: This information is provided for guests attending special events or official Perkins programs only. Perkins labs are not open to the general public).

Lab Coat

A lab coat will be provided and must be worn at all times.

Shoes

Visitors must wear suitable footwear. Suitable footwear for the laboratory is a completely enclosed, flat shoe, covering all of the foot, up to the ankle, without any toe or heel openings. Flat shoes have a wide heel base with a rise of less than 2.5cm, like sneakers.

Please do not wear: high heels, shoes with a small heel base, open-toed shoes, shoes that don’t provide adequate coverage or ballet flats. Suitable shoes for most shoe sizes can be provided if needed.

Safety Glasses

Safety glasses are provided and must be worn at all times. The safety glasses fit over most prescription glasses frames.

Hair

Long hair must be tied back or clipped up at all times.

Food & Drink

Visitors to the Perkins must not bring food or drinks into the laboratories. This includes water bottles.

Bags & Electronic Devices

All bags and electronic devices must be left outside the PC2 laboratory area. This includes mobile phones and cameras. Photography in the laboratory area is not permitted without prior authorisation. (Please refer to the Photography Guidelines below if filming has been authorised).

Hand Washing

Visitors must wash their hands when leaving laboratory areas. This is a requirement of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR). Alcohol-based hand-sanitiser gel is a suitable alternative for larger groups, and is provided on site.

Other rules to know about

• Whenever possible, visits should take place in an area where no active work is occurring. Visitors must not touch anything or disturb researchers.
• Visitors must remain in the central laboratory areas and not enter any of the specialist side rooms without prior permission from the laboratory or research operations manager.
• Visitors must not remove anything from the laboratories. If taking papers, notebooks, etc., they must not be placed on benches or floors.
• The corridors on Level 1 are within the PC2 area and all appropriate rules must be followed.
• No children (any person under the age of 18 years) may enter the laboratories, unless they are attending an official Perkins program.

Professional Photography and Filming in Labs

To protect the health and safety to visitors, and to avoid disrupting live experiments, visiting media are advised of the following:

• Laboratory management must be informed of all filming and/or photography requirements in advance. This allows us to plan for your visit.
• Visitors understand that Perkins is a working laboratory and that they must obey any and all safety regulations.
• All visitors must be accompanied by an authorised staff member at all times.
• Visitors must not touch or move any items on benches.
• To avoid any personal health and safety risks, and to avoid disrupting live experiments, visitors must not place any equipment or personal items on benches.
• All staff being filmed or photographed conducting experiments (or mock experiments) must wear lab coats, gloves and safety glasses.
• Hands must be washed when leaving the lab. Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel is acceptable for groups of visitors.

What is a PC2 Lab?

All facilities at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research are PC2 certified.

A “PC2 lab” is a laboratory facility that has been certified as suitable for research or diagnostic work to be carried out on human tissue and cells.

PC2 stands for Physical Containment Level 2.

Certification of PC2 facilities is regulated by the federal Department of Health and Ageing’s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator. The objectives, guidelines, requirements and process of certification of a PC2 lab are outlined in the Gene Technology Act 2000 (the Act).

The object of this Act is to protect the health and safety of people, and to protect the environment, by identifying risks posed by or as a result of gene technology, and by managing those risks.

To be granted certification, a facility must meet each of the requirements for certification of a PC2 Laboratory. Certification is regularly assessed by the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator.