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Concerns or complaints about the conduct of human research projects at Northern Health are rare; however, when they arise, they are often concerns that can be quickly and effectively resolved to everyone’s satisfaction.

A concern or complaint may be made by:

  1. Research participants / carers / family members
  2. Researchers
  3. Staff of institutions
  4. Institutions Human Research Ethics Committee
  5. Others

If you have a concern or a complaint it should be managed and resolved where possible by the research team, however, if the complaint is unable to be resolved or has resulted in an impact on participant safety or involves an ethical issue, the complaint should be escalated. The escalation process is as follows:

  1. Research Nurse, Trial Coordinator, Associate Investigator, Principal Investigator
  2. Director of Research or delegate
  3. Northern Health Executive Director
  4. Approving Human Research Ethics Committee
  5. External mediator, if necessary

The complaint and the identity of the complainant will be treated confidentially.

See the Northern Health Research – Complaints Procedure for more information.

To contact the Northern Health Office of Research email ethics@nh.org.au or phone 03 8405 2918
Northern Health adheres to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research 2007 and the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research in regards to concern or complaints.