Our commitment to quality research

St Vincent’s Private Hospitals are at the forefront of research, clinical education, and training in the private health sector. We are committed to quality research in the areas of acute and chronic care, innovative healthcare delivery, translational research, and vulnerable communities.

We draw on the expertise of our people and form collaborative research partnerships with experts who share our vision and values. We believe in holistic care informed by the latest evidence, and continuously strive to improve to ensure the best practice.

Human research is research conducted with or about people, or their data or tissue. St Vincent’s Health Australia understands the vital role that research plays in improving health outcomes across the service. Supporting research initiatives is part of the organisational strategic plan to achieve exceptional care..

Research application process

We welcome applications to conduct research at, or in collaboration with, any of the St Vincent’s Private Hospitals.

Prior to submitting a research ethics application to the appropriate human research ethics committee (HREC), investigators should consider whether the project is appropriate for the nominated hospital. Investigators need to obtain authorisation to conduct their project at the nominated facility from the facility’s designated Executive Responsible for Research before applying for ethical or governance approval.

The possible outcomes from assessment of the project from the facility research review include:

• Approval of the project if it is a simple quality assurance (QA) project
• The project is identified as needing ethics approval and investigators will be notified to submit the project to the appropriate HREC
• The project is identified as already having appropriate ethics approval from an ethics committee credentialed for National Mutual Acceptance. Investigators will be notified to submit a Site-Specific Assessment (SSA) form to apply for governance authorisation at the St Vincent’s Private Hospital facility.
• The project is rejected as not being appropriate for the St Vincent’s Private Hospital facility.

Please note that applying to conduct the project at the hospital is not equivalent to submitting a HREC application. To learn more about the HREC application process for each facility, please refer to relevant section/s below.

Complaints procedure

All HRECs at SVHA are committed to fulfilling Section 5.6 of the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research, and ensuring that all research is conducted according to the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. This includes ensuring that all complaints relating to research at a SVHA facility are handled appropriately.

All complaints will be handled promptly with due sensitivity and in recognition of principles of natural justice. The appropriate HREC at SVHA will efficiently, effectively, and ethically deal with complaints made to the HREC, irrespective of the source or nature of the complaint. 

Research participants, their families and other concerned parties have the right to communicate their concerns about any aspect of the services provided and are encouraged to do so. 

What to do if you have a complaint?

In the first instance, you can contact the researcher directly to resolve your concerns. If for any reason you do not feel comfortable talking with the researcher, or if you are not satisfied with their response, please contact the relevant research office that the study was approved from. 

For studies approved by the St Vincent’s Health and Aged Care HREC:

Research Ethics and Governance Officer 

Email: svhac.hrec@svha.org.au 

Tel: (07) 3435 1615 

For studies approved by the St Vincent’s Health Network Sydney HREC: 

Research Office 

E-mail: SVHS.Research@svha.org.au 

Tel: (02) 8382 4960

For studies approved by the St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne HREC:

Patient Liaison Officer at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne 

Email: PLO@svhm.org.au 

Tel: (03) 9231 1954