Home | Site map | Contact us | Help |

Search Child Safety:

Research

• Child Safety Research Conference
• Child safety research forums
• Child safety research strategy
• Horizons - child protection research newsletter
• Research approval process
• Research funding
• Research register
• Contacts
• Library

Research approval process

Applications for research projects are appraised by our Strategic Policy and Research Branch and final approval of projects is at the discretion of our Director-General.

To be considered for departmental support, research needs to be:

• relevant - closely linked to strategic direction of our department
• applicable - able to be applied to a critical aspect of the child protection system
• comprehensive - sufficiently inclusive to represent actual practices
• methodologically sound - use processes that achieve reliable and valid data
• multi-disciplinary - crossing and going beyond the traditional discipline involved in child safety
• inclusive of a range of types of research - quantitative and qualitative, longitudinal case studies, economic and mathematical modelling and clinical research studies

Before applying to us to conduct research that involves departmental staff, clients or information, you should refer to the Research approval process (PDF 42 KB) which details what is involved in gaining 'in-principle support' or 'approval to conduct research' from our Director-General.

Stage 1 - Research proposal

Research proposal form (Word 67 KB) - to be used by researchers to request In-principle support for proposed research. In-principle support - in the form of a letter from our Director-General - is normally required by ethics committees as part of their requirements to consider an ethics application.

Stage 2 - Application for approval

Application for approval to conduct research (Word 100 KB) - to be used when researchers are seeking Approval to conduct research. Ethical approval from a Human Research Ethics Committee of a recognised university must be provided with this application along with details of the proposed research. In-principle support is not a prerequisite to apply for Approval to conduct research. However, the normal process is to work through the two stages.

Further information

Further information or enquiries about the research approval process may be directed to our Strategic Policy and Research Branch.

Last updated

30 May 2007