Applicants must read the DLB Access Policy and are advised to speak to the relevant Data Custodians before applying to DOHWADepartment of Health Western Australia for data. Please also investigate whether your project will require approval by the DOHWA HRECDepartment of Health Western Australia Human Research Ethics Committee (see the Ethics page). The Application for Data process is split into two steps involving the same set of forms.
- Expression of Interest
- Application for Data where DOHWA HREC is required
- Application for Data where DOHWA HREC is not required
Step 1: Expression of Interest
All applicants must submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) before applying for approvals from the relevant institutional Human Research Ethics Committee and/or Department of Health WA Human Research Ethics Committee (DOHWA HREC) approval. This EOI is essentially a draft application and allows for any issues to be identified and corrected before work begins on the project. The Application for Data form, as well as all relevant modules should be completed.
The EOI will be processed by the DLB Project officer, who will present it on the applicant's behalf to the relevant Data Managers for review. The Data Managers will advise whether the data requested is appropriate for the purposes of the study, give guidance on issues such as data availability and quality and suggest changes. Feedback on EOIs will be given within two to three weeks of submission. Changes suggested in the feedback should be included in the form before submitting the final application for data.
Applicants do not need to complete the signature section of the form when submitting an EOI. EOIs should be sent as Word document attachments to DataServices@health.wa.gov.au
EOIs are reviewed every fortnight. Please see the calendar of meeting dates: EOI_2012_calendar.pdf
If you would like to submit an EOI, please see the Forms page.
Step 2: Formal Application for Data
After feedback has been received from the relevant Data Managers, applications should be amended with the suggested changes. It is strongly recommended that the final application for data is sent to the Project Officer for review, prior to formal submission. This is to ensure that all relevant changes have been incorporated, to ensure efficiency in the submission to HREC (if applicable) and subsequent release of data.
After obtaining all necessary signatures and supporting documentation you can submit the form as a formal Application for Data.
DOHWA HREC approval is required for the release of:
- personal identifying information*
- the creation of new links between data sets
- Mental Health Information System data
- Birth Defects Registry Data
*Personal health information is information or opinions that relate to the health of a person where the identity of a person is apparent or can reasonably be ascertained from the information. For a more detailed explanation see the Practice Code For the Use of Personal Health Information.
Please see the Submission Instructions page.
Amendments
All amendments to data linkageThe process of establishing whether two or more pieces of information belong to or describe the same person, family, event, place or time period. projects should first be discussed with the Data Linkage Project Manager (Alexandra.godfrey@health.wa.gov.au). The forms required will depend on the nature of the request and time since the original approval. Please note that amendment requests must also go through the Expression of Interest stage.