Research and Ethics Office

Forms and Templates

Please also note that if you need to send a research agreement to the office, please do so by external mail (Research Directorate –Research Ethics and Governance Unit, Administration Building, Eastern Campus, Liverpool Hospital Locked Bag 7279, Liverpool BC 1871) or internal mail (Research Directorate – Research Ethics and Governance Unit, Level 2, Liverpool Hospital).

If coming from external mail, please ensure a prepaid envelope is included for return of counter-signed research agreements. If sending via internal mail, please ensure details are provided on a separate note in regard to the Internal Department to send the counter-signed agreement. Please note that the Research Directorate is not responsible for any mail lost in transit.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Research Directorate on 8738 8304 or 8738 8314 if you have any questions. We look forward to working with you and supporting you with your research. 

For COVID-19 guidance please refer to the below links:

NHRMC COVID-19: Guidance on clinical trials for institutions, HRECs, researchers and sponsors:
www.nhmrc.gov.au/research-policy/COVID-19-impacts

The NSW Office for Health and Medical Research (OHMR) COVID-19: Guidance for sponsors, researchers, HRECs and RGOs
https://www.medicalresearch.nsw.gov.au/covid-19-clinical-trial-guidance/

NOTE: All applications have now been migrated to REGIS. Please use the REGIS forms from 1 April 2019. The only form to be used outside of REGIS is the Multicentre Cover Letter for amendments where SWSLHD HREC is not the lead HREC.

Further Information Response - Ethics/SSA

When you have received a request to provide further information to either an Ethics application or an SSA, please complete the SWSLHD Ethics/SSA Response Cover Letter.

Is your project low risk, greater than low risk or quality improvement?

If you need advice, we strongly encourage you to submit a Decision Aid so that we can provide a determination of the best application pathway for your project. Please email the Decision Aid to SWSLHD-Ethics@health.nsw.gov.au

Decision Aid

Study Documents

It is strongly recommended that if you are conducting an investigator initiated study, to use the Protocol Template.

Protocol Template

Please use the instructions in the below document to prepare your Master Documents and Site Specific Documents.

Preparing Site Specific Documents (SSD)

Clinical Trial Forms

FM_002_Contact Report version 1
FM_006_Protocol Specific Training Log version 1
FM_007_Delegation of Responsibilities Log version 1
FM_008_Individual Training Log version 1
FM_009_Essential Documents for Conduct of Clinical Trials Checklist version 1
FM_010_Overall ISF Management in Clinical Trials version 1
FM_011_ISF Contents Template version 1
FM_012_Essential Document Storage Location v1.0
FM_013_
FM_014_
FM_015_Protocol Amendment Storage Location v1.0
FM_016_
FM_017_
FM_018_Corrective and Preventative Action (CAPA) Plan
FM_019_Participant IP Accountability Log v1.0
FM_020_Batch IP Accountability Log v1.0
FM_021_IP Returns Log v1.0
FM_022_
FM_023_Site Initiation Visit Checklist v1.0
FM_024_
FM_025_Orientation Manual v1.0
FM_026_Biological Specimen Tracking Log v1.0
FM_027_
FM_028_Handover Form v1.0
FM_029_Core Competencies Form

Participant Information Sheet and Consent Form Templates

Interventional Participant Information Sheet Self
Interventional Consent Form Self

Interventional Participant Information Sheet Person Responsible
Interventional Consent Form Person Responsible

Interventional Participant Information Sheet Parent Guardian
Interventional Consent Form Parent Guardian

Genetic Participant Information Sheet Self
Genetic Participant Information Sheet Person Responsible
Genetic Participant Information Sheet Parent Guardian

Health & Social Science Participant Information Sheet Self
Health & Social Science Information Sheet Person Responsible
Health & Social Science Information Sheet Parent Guardian

Non-Interventional Participant Information Sheet Self
Non-Interventional Participant Information Sheet Person Responsible
Non-Interventional Participant Information Sheet Parent Guardian

Consent Form Self
Consent Form Parent Guardian/Person Responsible

Consent Form - Interventional

SWSLHD Ethics Amendment

This Amendment Form is to be used where SWSLHD is the lead Ethics for your project. It is a condition of Ethics Approval to notify Ethics if you make any changes to your approved documents. Please submit your documents in tracked and clean versions, with an updated version number and date on REGIS.

Please follow this Quick Reference Guide for how to complete an Amendment on REGIS - https://regis.health.nsw.gov.au/media/1355/qrg-resapp-ethics-amendment-completing-and-submitting-v11-final.pdf

SWSLHD Annual Report

Please note that REGIS has released an enhancement in the system for Annual Reports which is more user friendly and compliant with our requirements. Therefore as of 8 November 19, SWSLHD will NOT be accepting Annual Reports via email on the Annual Report template.

For projects where SWSLHD HREC is the lead HREC, please complete the annual report via REGIS following the 'Submitting a Progress/Final Report' Quick Reference Guide which can be found on their website.

For projects where the lead HREC is not a NSW Public Health Organisation, please still submit using the MC Cover letter below and email the acknowledgement and annual report to our email address or as a site amendment on REGIS.

For projects where the lead HREC is a NSW Public Health Organisation, the acknowledgement of the Annual Report will automatically submit to the relevant Research Governance Officers for review, therefore researchers are not required to submit to SWSLHD RGO. The lead HREC also confirms this in their email with the following statement: 'Each authorised site in REGIS has been notified and will only contact you if they require more information. Please accept this notification on behalf of the HREC and NSW sites listed in the form'.
 

Safety Reporting for Clinical Trials

As of October 3, 2017, the NSW OHMR has formally accepted the updated NHMRC Safety Reporting Guidance. This aligns with national and international standards. This is effective now, and applies to new and existing trials. Fewer reports are required, and all safety reporting to the HREC and/or RGO is the responsibility of the sponsor of the trial. For more information click here.

Please log onto REGIS to submit a Significant Safety Issue, Serious Breach Notification of Safety Event form - https://regis.health.nsw.gov.au/

Amendment Form for Projects with a Different Lead Ethics (not SWSLHD) - including Addition of Investigators and Governance Amendments (including CTRA amendments)

Please submit a site amendment in REGIS and attach the below Multi-Centre Cover letter, HREC approval, all the documents listed in the approval as well as the site specific documents in tracked and clean. Link to cover letter:  Multi-Centre Cover Letter
Please follow the REGIS QRG or by following the following steps:

  1. click on PID number
  2. click on relevant STE number for the site
  3. click on forms tab
  4. click on 'notification of an amendment'
  5. select 'general amendment' in the drop down menu for the type of amendment
  6. follow the prompts and fill out amendment
  7. upload documents in a zip folder and submit.

 
Adding Investigators where SWSLHD is not the lead HREC

Please submit the following documents via REGIS to add any investigators where SWSLHD is not the lead HREC:

  • Good Clinical Practice - clinical trials (valid for three years)
  • Confidentiality - Non NSW health employee and both on-site and off-site
  • Criminal Record Check - Non NSW employees working on-site (valid for three years)

Adding Investigators to an Approved Study by SWSLHD

Please submit this as a General Amendment to your study in REGIS - https://regis.health.nsw.gov.au/

Please follow this Quick Reference Guide for how to complete an Amendment on REGIS - https://regis.health.nsw.gov.au/media/1355/qrg-resapp-ethics-amendment-completing-and-submitting-v11-final.pdf

To add investigators to the study we require the following:
IF the study is a clinical trial - Good Clinical Practice Certificate
IF the investigator is not a NSW Health employee - Confidentiality Form 
IF working on-site and not a NSW Health employee - A Criminal Record Check done within the last three years. Working onsite involves contacting patients and/or viewing SWSLHD patient data.

TRANSLATED DOCUMENTS 

Please note that the translated documents are required to be translated by a NAATI accredited translator and submitted to the research directorate for review/approval prior to use for all projects. Link: https://www.naati.com.au/

NSW Health Statewide Biobank Consent Toolkit
The NSW Office for Health and Medical Research (OHMR) in collaboration with the NSW Health Statewide Biobank (NSWHSB) released the NSW Health Statewide Biobank Consent Toolkit in February 2018.

The Consent Toolkit provides guidance to biobanking stakeholders on consenting including use of broad-based consent, the return of incidental findings, and data linkage to NSW Health datasets. Adoption of this robust consent process will better support ethical human research and provide a sustainable approach to managing human biobanks across the State.

Compliance with the Consent Toolkit is mandatory for prospective collections of the Statewide Biobank. It is encouraged that all NSW research biobanks seeking consent from potential biobanking participants comply with the Consent Toolkit.

The Consent Toolkit contains:
1. Consent Principles and Protocol
2. Participant Information Sheet
3. Consent Form
4. Ethically Defensible Plan
5. Compliance Checklist 

CALD RESOURCES

CALD (Culturally and Linguistically Diverse) Research is a focus for SWSLHD. Please see this link for useful resources if you are considering incorporating some CALD elements into your research and/or would like access to resources to potentially include CALD groups in your study. The resources included in the link are reviewed by NSW Health for accuracy.

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Last Updated: 28 October, 2024
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