Governance Review of Research Proposals
The Research Office reviews and approves research projects to be conducted at an Adventist HealthCare Limited facility including Sydney Adventist Hospital, San Day Surgery Hornsby, San Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, SAH Pharmacy and the Australasian Research Institute. We also review studies to be conducted at facilities on our campus including ICON Cancer Centre, Northern Haematology & Oncology Group (NHOG), Australian Clinical Trials and San Ultrasound for Women if AHCL staff or AMOs are involved.
What you need to do before commencing your study
Please complete the Site Specific Assessment Form and send this to the Research Office. We will contact you to advise you of any further information that may be required.
Unfortunately, we are unable to give an estimate of the time required to finish the review as this depends on the individual study design, the number of departments and resources involved, and the risk profile of a individual study.
Research Agreement Templates (with AHCL modifications)
Please note: These templates include AHCL modifications. On Page 1 of all templates, the contact person details may be changed to those of the Research Coordinator (or equivalent).
- CIRA MTAA: Contract Research Organisation Acting as a Local Sponsor
- CIRA MTAA: Standard CTRA
- CIRA MTAA: Institution Investigator Agreement Template
- CTRA Medicines Australia: Collaborative or Research Group
- CTRA Medicines Australia: Contract Research Organisation Acting as the Local Sponsor
- CTRA Medicines Australia: Standard CTRA
- CTRA Medicines Australia: Institution Investigator Agreement Template
AHCL Resources & Forms
- Research Policy
- AHCL Site Specific Assessment Form
- Billing Information
- Naming AHCL on Legal Documents
- Modern Slavery Standard Contractual Clause
Fees for research review
Fees are payable upon receipt of an Application for Ethical Review, an amendment to an approved research project and/or a Site Specific Assessment Form. Fees are non-refundable, even if a submission is unsuccessful or is withdrawn prior to consideration or determination.
ACHL Research Ethics & Governance Fee Schedule
Research type |
Ethics fees |
Governance fees |
Amendment fees |
Investigator initiated1 | Nil | Nil | Nil |
Cooperative / collaborative group2 without commercial sponsorship |
Low/negligible risk:3 Greater than low risk:4 |
$500.00 |
Standard: $150.00 Complex: $450.00 |
Commercially sponsored5 (includes pharmaceutical and collaborative / cooperative group) |
$3,000.00 |
$3,600.00 |
Standard: $500.00 Complex: $1,700.00 |
AHCL ethics and governance fees are charged per submission of documents to the Research Office for review. For a definition of amendment types, please refer to Section 3 of the AHCL RESEARCH ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE FEES policy available to download below.
1. Investigator initiated research has the following characteristics:
- The principal investigator is accredited or employed by Adventist HealthCare Limited (AHCL)
- The principal investigator is the primary author or custodian of the study protocol
- If the principal investigator is affiliated with ANU then there must be a co-investigator on the project accredited or employed by AHCL
2. Cooperative/Collaborative group without commercial sponsorship has the following characteristics:
- The co-operative group must be the primary author and custodian of the research protocol
- The sponsor is a research institute, university or collaborative group
- The research addresses clinical questions and not industry or commercial interests
- The cooperative group must declare the nature of any sponsorship from a pharmaceutical entity or other entity that may directly benefit commercially from the research outcomes
- The research project must have a PI accredited or employed by AHCL
3. Low/negligible risk research projects fall within the definition contained within the National Statement:
- Negligible risk projects: no foreseeable risk of harm or discomfort and no more than inconvenience to participants
- Low risk: where the foreseeable risk is one of discomfort
4. Greater than no risk research projects fall within the definition contained within the National Statement:
- Where the risk even if unlikely is more serious than discomfort, the research is not low risk.
5. Commercially sponsored research has the following characteristics:
- The research is initiated by a pharmaceutical/device company or a cooperative collaborative group with commercial funding
- The research is conducted to investigator a medication/device for commercial exploitation by its manufacturer/sponsor
- The study protocol has been developed and is the responsibility of a pharmaceutical/device company of other commercial entity