“Ethical conduct is more than simply doing the right thing. It involves acting in the right spirit, out of an abiding respect and concern for one’s fellow creatures.” (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2023)
These pages contain information to help you prepare and submit your project for ethics approval and governance authorisation. They describe post-approval activities and reporting. You will also find the services the Research & Education Network (REN) provides to WSLHD researchers in areas such as education, statistics, and writing support.
How to navigate these pages
• Each heading has links to forms, policies, and procedures.
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There are guides for ethics and governance tasks, so you can easily find the information you need.
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You will find some forms and templates on more than one page, so they are at your fingertips when you are ready to use them.
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Information about Pre-Submission meetings and how to book can be found on the Ethics page.
Phone: 88909007
Email: [email protected]
Research Office Staff
Administration Officers |
Human Research Ethics & Governance Officers |
Human Research Ethics Committee Secretariat |
Research Governance Officers |
Vin DiProspero
Preethi Ramanathan
Ayesha Shaik- Finance only
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Seema Manoj
Johnny Chetty |
Amanda Bryant |
Pauline Geale
Catherine Hemmings |
- Generic telephone and email
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Booking in new studies
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Monitoring & Archiving
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Secretariat support for the Institutional Biosafety Committee
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REGIS Support
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- All post-approval work for ethics and governance
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Secretariat support for HREC Sub-Committee
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REGIS Support
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- Secretariat support for the WSLHD
- Human Research Ethics Committee, and Scientific Advisory Committee
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Liaison with Area Drug Committee
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REGIS Support
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- Review of all site-specific applications to the WSLHD
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Contract review
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TGA submission
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REGIS Support
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Kellie Hansen – Manager, Research Office.
Telephone 0429 270 660
Once you have your protocol and study documents prepared, please use the link or QR code below to book a Pre-Submission Meeting.
Please use the booking form to select
- the type of meeting you want
- the day and time
- if you want a F2F or teams meeting in the NOTES section
- confirm you have drafted your protocol
Pre-submission meetings are available on Wednesday and Thursday between 0900-1100.
This is not a review of your project but a high-level overview allowing us to check you have everything you need to make your submission eligible, highlight anything you may have missed, and answer your questions.
The team member will go through your project and documents with you to make sure you have everything you need and answer your questions. To make the most efficient use of your time, once you have booked your appointment, we would be very grateful if you would email your study documents to [email protected]. Please note the subject as “PRE-SUBMISSION MEETING XX:XXam DD/MM/YYYY”, so we can ensure the correct officer has your documents ahead of your meeting.
WSLHD-ResearchOffice
Ethics
The menu items below and to the right contain the information and forms you will need for initial submission, post-approval, and reporting activities related to your project.
If you have any questions, please contact the Research Office at 88909007 or [email protected]
Governance
You can find information and forms you will need for initial submission, post-approval, and reporting activities related to your Research Governance application here.
The WSLHD Research Office is in the Research and Education Network (REN) Building on the Westmead Campus. The Research Office provides services for the WSLHD and several affiliated MRIs in
- Human Research Ethics
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Research Governance
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Institutional Biosafety Committee support
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Animal Ethics Governance
The WSLHD Research Office has representation at the Blacktown Campus on Thursday and Friday. Staff can be found on level 2 of the WSU Clinical School.
The Research Office coordinates and supports the administrative and regulatory aspects of research at WSLHD assisting with research applications, providing support to committees, and ensuring appropriate ethics and governance review are received. These pages have been developed to assist researchers in meeting the requirements of Human Research Ethics and Research Governance.
The website includes guides, forms, policies, and procedures to assist you with:
- How to apply for ethics and governance
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The Approval Processes
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Clinical Trial resources
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Post approval guidelines and documentation
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Forms and templates
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Policy and Guidelines
WSLHD Radiation Safety Committee contributes to the continued provision of safe, efficient, and effective services to patients, staff, and consumers, through the implementation of radiation safety standards and compliance with the internal and external governing bodies. The Radiation Safety Committee must
The submission and meeting dates for 2024 can be found in the documents below. Please note gazette closing dates are fixed and cannot be extended.
Document 1 includes the dates for the Area Drug Committee (ADC), Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), and Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC).
Document 2 includes the dates for the HREC Sub-Committee for ethics amendments to approved studies.
- WSLHD Submission and Meeting Dates Schedule 2025 (pdf)
- HREC Sub-Committee Submission and Meeting Dates 2025 (pdf)
Any changes made to an approved project must receive ethics approval and governance authorization. Regardless of the size of the change, it cannot be incorporated into the project until it is approved.
Amendments are submitted in REGIS, using the “Forms” tab on the ETH. There are several forms available, please choose the one that describes your requested change:
- Notification of an amendment to a research study
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Serious Breach Notification form (third party)
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Significant Safety Issue Notification
*The WSLHD HREC Request for Extension Application form must be submitted with your amendment in REGIS. Please read the guidance at the head of the document to decide what is required for your project.
Amendments will not be accepted if annual reports are not up to date.
Quality Assurance (QA)
QA is a local process only. Applications are accepted under anytime submission via email to the generic research office email address
[email protected]. QA is not submitted via REGIS. The eligibility criteria for QA is
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a review of routinely collected data either retrospective or prospective.
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does not interact with participants.
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does not add anything or undertake new work.
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includes data held and owned by WSLHD (including LHD data contributed to state-wide databases e.g. e-maternity)
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does not use identifiable data.
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all study team members must be employees of the WLSHD.
All QA applications must be submitted with a study protocol and data collection form.
Ethically approved QA projects can be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at conferences. If your project is for internal use only, an application is not required and can be done with Head of Department approval.
For further information please refer to
QA Submission Guidance, V2, January 2024.
Case Reports (CR)
CR is a local process only. Applications are accepted under anytime submission via email to the generic research office email address
[email protected]. QA is not submitted via REGIS. The eligibility criteria for CR is
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can only include 1-5 patients.
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all authors must be employees of the WSLHD.
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A signed consent form must be provided for each patient included in the CR. (the consent form template is included in the application template)
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To assist you there is a CR template available for your use.
Authorised Prescriber applications are reviewed by the WSLHD Area Drug Committee on behalf of the WSLHD Human Research Ethics committee. They are considered under sub regulation 12B (1B) and 12B (1C) of the therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990. The drug committee sends their recommendation to the WSLHD Health Research Ethics Committee (HREC) who will send a letter of endorsement to you.
If you wish to apply for Authorised prescriber approval, please apply to
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The WSLHD Drug Committee for WSLHD drug and formulary approval by email,
[email protected].
Please read through the TGA link below and include all information, including references as described by the TGA guidance document.
- Unapproved products for multiple patients (Authorised Prescriber) | Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for TGA approval. The HREC endorsement letter is required to be uploaded to your application.
Please note: Both applications can only be done on-line. There are no paper forms available.
For further information please email
[email protected] and
[email protected]
The process for managing complaints and potential breaches are described in WSLHD policy,
The Responsible Conduct of Research - WSLHD (pdf) and an accompanying procedure
Managing and Investigating Potential Breaches to the WSLHD Policy for Responsible Conduct of Research (pdf). These are applicable to all research carried out in and on WSLHD facilities. See the
Advisers of Research Integrity page for names and details. Follow the links here or contact the Research Office for more information.
Complaints for patients Westmead & Auburn
Site complaints contact |
Patient Experience Unit |
Telephone |
02 8890 7014 |
Email |
[email protected] |
Complaints for non-patients and staff
WSLHD Research Office |
WSLHD Research Governance Office |
Telephone |
02 8890 9007 |
Email |
[email protected] |
Complaints for contact for BMDH
Site complaints contact |
Office of the General Manager, Blacktown-Mt Druitt Hospitals |
Telephone |
02 9881 8000 (Blacktown Hospital switchboard) and ask to be connected to the Office of the General Manager |
Email |
[email protected] |
