Making a submission

The WA Health Research Governance Framework governs the scientific, ethical and site governance review and approval, and the conduct and monitoring of human research within WA public health organisations. 

The policy and procedures apply to WA Health employees and non-WA Health employees who propose to undertake, manage, review and govern human research involving patients, their tissue or data accessed through WA Health. 

Research projects cannot commence at the Child and Adolescent Health Service (CAHS) sites until they have: 
  • ethical and scientific approval (HREC approval)
  • site governance approval (site authorisation)
The ethical and site governance reviews are independent processes, but can be conducted in parallel. 
CAHS retains the right not to authorise a research project at its sites, even if the project has HREC approval and/or site approval at other institutions. 

Research Governance Service (RGS)

All projects conducted at a CAHS site require approval via the Research Governance Service (RGS). The RGS is an online application submission service. All new HREC applications and all governance applications must be submitted using this service.  

To sign-up for RGS and create a new project workspace, please go to the RGS website.

For information on RGS and guidelines for researchers please refer to the RGS help Wiki.

Help with RGS technical difficulties is available from the RGS Support team: RGS.Support@health.wa.gov.au

Protocol 

All research conducted in WA Health must have a protocol.

The protocol is a document that describes how the research project will be conducted, describing the:

  • Background
  • Aims / Objectives and Hypotheses
  • Research design/Methodology
  • Statistical/data analysis plan
  • Research Data Management
  • Outcomes dissemination plan

A well-developed protocol ensures the safety of the participants and integrity of the data collected and increases the likelihood that the project will be seen to a successful conclusion, generating publishable and/or translatable findings. 

CAHS has prepared several templates to assist those who do not already have a preferred template: 

Only include sections relevant to your project and delete the instructions/notes prior to submission. The protocol should be attached as a supporting document in your RGS project workspace. 

Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form

CAHS has prepared several templates to assist those who do not already have a preferred template. These templates are based on the InFORMed PICF template, developed during the CT:IQ’s InFORMed Project: Redesigning Consent to Research project.

Last Updated: 28/10/2024