Approval process for Statistical Linkage Projects
The Privacy Committee of SA has agreed an approval process to be used for statistical linkage projects; projects for the purposes of research, evaluation, quality assurance or monitoring that use linkage keys provided by SA NT DataLink.
Approval Decision Tree
This process starts with the researcher submitting a Statistical Linkage Project Application and Ethics Application Form.
Researchers and Custodians are then brought together to refine the application and for the custodians to ensure that they are satisfied in how their data are being used. (In this process custodians can apply conditions as to the use of their data.)
Once the Custodians are satisfied and it has been determined that there are no legal impediments to them providing the data, they provide in principle approval.
For State held or health related datasets it then goes as a package to the appropriate Human Research Ethics Committees (HRECs), identified in the application process, for their approval. The key SA HRECs are the Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee and the Aboriginal Health Research Ethics Committee, in addition to any other committees that may be required to give their approval. (In the case of privately or Commonwealth agency held non-health related data the Privacy Commissioner must make a Public Interest Determination as well as requiring the other approvals detailed above.) In most situations the data will be State held and the process will follow the path outlined in green in the diagram above.
Once all of the ethics approvals have been received the Custodians provide final sign-off prior to data extracts occurring.
Researchers are only ever given de-identified data a linkage keys that are specific to that project and no other, so that data from a number of projects cannot be linked.