Our Research Ethics and Governance Working Group has worked toward streamlining the cumbersome ethics and governance approvals process, enabling health researchers across Monash Partners to start projects more efficiently.

Applications are still subject to the same rigorous approval criteria, however, streamlining has reduced complexity and improved timeframes.

Since its inception, the Monash Partners Research Ethics and Governance Working Group has achieved the following: 

• Standardised research training policy including mandatory accredited Good Clinical Research Practice training for all researchers conducting clinical trials.
• Standard national ethics forms (HREA, not institution-specific Ethics and Governance forms), enabling researchers to use the same documents to seek Ethics approval and Governance authorisation for multi-site projects.
• Standardisation of other governance forms and approval across each of the Monash Partners sites
  • Site Specific Authorisation addendum (local governance).
  • Standardised Clinical Trials Agreement (CTA) and Research Collaboration Agreement (RCA).
  • Acceptance of electronic sign offs for agreements to shorten start-up time.
• Provision of a co-enrolment policy to all Monash Partners sites.
• Compilation of a list of Monash Partners clinician-researchers who are willing to contribute to a Data Safety Monitoring Board or “drug trial safety officer” role for investigator-initiated trials.
• Progress in jointly evaluating a single electronic Ethics and Governance system platform for Monash Partners and beyond.
• Evaluation of various models for mutual acceptance of ethics approval across all Monash Partners sites.