Department for Health and Wellbeing research governance

When is a DHW site specific assessment required?

A Department for Health and Wellbeing (DHW) site specific assessment (SSA) application is required for each research project that involves DHW staff, resources and/or data.

The department is responsible for managing many state-wide data sets. Researchers who are requesting access to these data sets for research purposes must receive SSA authorisation before commencing their project.

A data custodian is responsible for each data set, and approval from the data custodian must be sought as part of the SSA application via Research GEMS online. For more information about data custodians, please contact the DHW research office.

Submitting the SSA to the DHW research office

Before beginning the SSA application, review the DHW SSA application process flowchart (PDF 305KB)  for summary steps and tips to better understand the application process.

All SSA applications must be submitted via Research GEMS online.  Refer to the Research GEMS user guides for assistance. 

SSA submission documents

The DHW Research Office require the following documents to be uploaded with the SSA application:

  • confirmation of ethics approval from a SA Health HREC or certified National Mutual Acceptance (NMA) HREC
  • the HREC approved study protocol or human research ethics application (HREA) form 
  • participant Information sheet and consent form (if applicable)
  • CV for the site Principal Investigator (PI)
  • current certificates of insurance (professional indemnity and public liability) when the PI is not undertaking the research in their duties as a SA Health employee or are employed by an external organisation.

Contact

For further information relating to the DHW research office, contact:

DHW Research Governance Officer
Office for Research
Telephone: (08) 7117 6635
Email: HealthResearchGovernance@sa.gov.au