Working with our private health service partners, Cabrini and Epworth, and two leading national mutual acceptance certified human research ethics committees, Monash Health and Alfred Health, we have established a model for centralised ethics review.

Under the model, researchers from our member organisations may approach either Alfred Health or Monash Health for Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) review of single site or multi-site research projects.

HREC meetings are organised in a sequential manner to optimise access to ethics review.

Responsibility for governance remains with individual organisations, with standardised governance forms.

This centralised model has allowed organisations to focus on core research development activities and expertise.

Researchers may download and use the pre-approved research collaboration agreement template for quicker start up of research projects and collaborations

Below you will find useful resources to assist in completing your research project, including information about Monash Partners’ research agreement template which has been pre-approved by our member organisations and can be used for investigator-initiated collaborative research projects, including projects involving two or more parties.

Research Agreement Guide

A number of regulatory documents are required when conducting research, including agreements, insurance and indemnities. Below is a guide to which agreement should be used and the type of indemnity required for each type of study. Links to the various agreements are provided after the table.

SPONSORSHIP ARRANGEMENT	TYPE OF STUDY	INSTITUTION OF ORIGIN	NAME OF AGREEMENT	TYPE OF INDEMNITY
Commercially-Sponsored or Collaborative Group	Clinical Trial or Interventional Study	Medicines Australia (MA) 1,2	Standard CTRA	MA Standard Indemnity and/or MA HREC Review Only Indemnity
			CTRA: Contract Research Organisation acting as the Local Sponsor
			CTRA: Collaborative or Cooperative Research Group (CRG) Studies – Standard Form	MA Standard Indemnity and/or MA HREC Review Only Indemnity (may be provided)
			CTRA: Phase 4 Clinical Trial (Medicines)
		Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA)3	MTAA Australia Standard CIRA	MTAA Standard Indemnity and/or MTAA HREC Review Only Indemnity
			Medicines Australia CTRA: Contract Research Organisation acting as the Local Sponsor
		Alfred Health4	Clinical Trial Preparation Agreement	Not required
Investigator-Initiated, Company Supported	Clinical Trial or Interventional Study	Alfred Health Currently being considered by Medicines Australia4	Investigator-Initiated, Company Supported CTRA	Not required
Investigator-Initiated	Clinical Trial or Interventional Study	Medicines Australia1,2	CTRA: Collaborative or Cooperative Research Group (CRG) Studies
	Non-Interventional Study		Download the Research Collaboration Agreement or Material Transfer Agreement4
	LNR Study	Alfred Health4	Research Collaboration Agreement or Material Transfer Agreement4

1. Clinical Trials Research Agreements 
2. Indemnity and Compensation Guidelines
3. Clinical Investigations
4. Agreement Templates
5. Monash Partners

Monash Partners Research Collaboration Agreement

A research collaboration agreement template has been pre-approved by all Monash Partners member organisations and can be used for investigator-initiated collaborative research projects, including projects involving two or more parties. This agreement is NOT SUITABLE for contract research for industry partners, clinical trials, registry projects.

No legal review is required and Monash Partners member organisations aim to grant approval in five business days or less, providing the following criteria are met:

• The agreement is completed as per the guidelines
• The agreement is completed correctly
• Legal terms are not modified except for amendments allowed by the guidelines.

Guidelines to assist in completing the agreement can be accessed, HERE.

The agreement template can be accessed, HERE.

Service requests

Monash Partners is committed to supporting streamlined Research Ethics and Governance processes across our partner organisations and beyond. Before seeking governance approval from a participating organisation, the researcher must firstly seek approval from any supporting departments. A supporting department is any department that is providing support or services to the research project, but does not have a representative on the project team. Monash Partners’ Ethics and Governance working group has developed a set of standardised supporting department forms to facilitate streamlined governance across our partner organisations.

General 

This form is accepted at Alfred Health, Monash Health, Peninsula Health, Eastern Health, Cabrini Health and Epworth HealthCare. The information provided will be used by the relevant Service Department to determine the cost of the services requested. The information on page 2 of the Service Request Form is not considered part of the research governance/site authorisation review process and is therefore not mandatory, however, it may prove useful in your negotiations with service departments.

Cardiology 

This form is accepted at Alfred Health, Monash Health, Peninsula Health, Eastern Health and Cabrini Health. The information provided will be used by the Service Department to determine the cost of the services requested. The information in the Service Request Form will not be considered part of the research governance/site authorisation review.

Lung function

This form is accepted at Alfred Health, Monash Health, Peninsula Health, Eastern Health and Cabrini Health. The information provided will be used by the Service Department to determine the cost of the services requested. The information in the Service Request Form will not be considered part of the research governance/site authorisation review.

Pathology

This form is accepted at Alfred Health, Monash Health, Peninsula Health, Eastern Health and Cabrini Health. The information provided will be used by the Service Department to determine the cost of the services requested. The information in the Service Request Form will not be considered part of the research governance/site authorisation review.

Pharmacy

This form is accepted at Alfred Health, Monash Health, Peninsula Health, Eastern Health and Cabrini Health. The information provided will be used by the Service Department to determine the cost of the services requested. The information in the Service Request Form will not be considered part of the research governance/site authorisation review.

Health information 

This form is accepted at Alfred Health, Peninsula Health, Eastern Health and Cabrini Health. The information provided will be used by the Service Department to determine the cost of the services requested. The information in the Service Request Form will not be considered part of the research governance/site authorisation review.