An external researcher is a person intending to come *on site for the purposes of conducting research and includes researchers employed by another LHD, a university or other external organisation.

NSLHD employees who intend to conduct research on site as part of their external coursework or degree also fall into this category.

*On site includes all sites listed at https://www.nslhd.health.nsw.gov.au/services except for Northern Beaches Hospital.

Prior to coming onsite for the purpose of research, the Principal Investigator (PI) must submit an application to the Research Office and approval of this application must be received by the PI prior to the external researcher coming onsite.

Please note that for all new applications for research, the application must be submitted into Regis with the Site Specific Assessment (SSA).

To add an external researcher to an approved project please submit a site amendment in REGIS within the related site application by selecting amendment type as ‘General Amendment’ within the form and uploading the list of documentation listed in the table below for ‘site access’. An authorization of this submission must be obtained from the Research Office prior to the external researcher coming on site.  Click here  for a step by step guide on how to submit a site amendment in REGIS. Please note there is no fee associated with adding external researchers to a project.

Please note that external researchers who require emr access are required to submit some additional documentation to the Research Office. For information on how to apply for emr access click here.

For SITE ACCESS, please see table below for the required documentation: 

	Employee of any LHD other than NSLHD	Employee or student of a University who is NOT a NSLHD researcher	Employee of an external organisation
Letter from *PI or supervisor outlining scope of onsite activity and duration  Example template	Yes	Yes	Yes
Signed  NSW Health Code of Conduct	No	Yes	Yes
Copy of scope of liability insurance, along with certificate of currency	No	Yes	Yes
The  National Police Check (NPC) identification checklist is to be completed with every application and;  NPC consent form to enable lodgement with NSW Health Employee Services Recruitment Unit (ESRU) or a copy of a national police certificate obtained within the last three years and a  Statutory Declaration relating to any offences committed since the date of the Certificate.   The National Police Check (NPC) identification checklist can be signed by the Supervising Manager or Research Coordinator, provided they are a NSLHD employee, who will need to sight original identification documentation in order to do so.	No	Yes	Yes
Copies of identification listed in NPC identification checklist Original identification documentation must be sighted by the supervising manager or research coordinator in order to complete the NPC identification checklist. Please submit copies of this identification.	Yes – staff ID	Yes	Yes
Categorisation of Vaccination Risk Form. (and supporting documents from INFORMATION SHEET 2 of  PD2020_0017  if required)	No	Yes	Yes
A Working with Children Check (WWCC)  may also be required.	Please  complete this tool to determine this requirement. If a WWCC check is not required please submit the completed tool to the Research Office with your application for site access.

*if the PI or supervisor is not an NSLHD employee this letter should be from the Head of the Department who will be taking the responsibility of hosting the external researcher.

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