A complaint can be lodged at any time by anyone and can be about a research project (including researchers or their staff), a Research Governance (RG) Office, or a Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) (including any subcommittee). Anyone who has access to RGS can create a complaint.
Complaints about or to be submitted to a HREC outside of WA Health will have to be done using the process outlined by that HREC.
Who can lodge a complaint
Anyone can lodge a complaint and a complaint can be lodged on behalf of someone if that person doesn't want to be identified.
Type of complaints
There a various types of complaints that can be lodged. These are:
- Project – the complaint is about a specific project that is being conducted at a WA Health site.
- RG Office – the complaint is about a Research Governance Office responsible for a site.
- HREC – the complaint is about one of the HREC sponsored by an institution that is part of WA Health.
Lodging the complaint
Click on 'Complaints' on the left-hand menu. In the Complaints screen click 'New'. The Complaint Form will appear.
The form has 5 sections. All mandatory fields in each section have a red asterisk (*). The form will change depending on the nature of the complaint.
Nature of the complaint
- Project – the complaint is about a specific project that is being conducted at a WA Health site, including the researcher and their staff. The complaint can be lodged with either the RG Office or the HREC Office.
- RG Office – the complaint is about a Research Governance Office that is responsible for a site where the project maybe or is being conducted at.
- HREC – the complaint is about one of the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), or its subcommittee, sponsored by an institution that is part of WA Health.
Complainant Details
If the complainant wants to be anonymous then they shouldn't fill in the complaint form. The person completing the form on their behalf should retain the complainant's contact details in a secure and confidential manner so that they can inform them of their complaints process / outcome.
If the complainant is willing to be identified then they can complete the form. If they don't have access to RGS then any RGS User can complete the form on their behalf.
Complaint Details
The complaint details should have enough information so that the investigation into the complaint can commence as soon as possible.
Attachments
If the complainant has any documents relating to the complaint they can be attached to the complaint.
Declarations
The declaration is signed by the person completing the Complaint Form.
Submitting the complaint
Once the form has been signed the Submit button will be enabled. When the complaint has been submitted it will generate a task for either the RG Office or the HREC Office. The complaint will be processed according to their complaint procedure.
Following up on a complaint
Once the complaint has been lodged you should receive acknowledgement of the complaint including the process and timeline for the review. You can also contact the HREC or RG Office that you lodged the complaint with, to follow up its progress.
