Consumer Statement review
Stakeholders have been involved in all stages of the review and have been invited to participate in consultation and engagement activities as they arose to provide feedback prior to the finalisation of the revised Statement. Information on each of the completed activities is below.
15 November 2022: Consumer Statement Workshop
On Tuesday 15 November 2022, NHMRC and CHF convened an online workshop to begin the review process. The Consumer Statement Workshop included 193 participants representing consumers, advocate groups, advisory groups, researchers, research institutions, universities, and policy makers from all over Australia.
Participants and those that were unable attend further contributed to the discussion by completing a Consumer Statement Workshop feedback form. A summary from the Consumer Statement Workshop has been published.
2024: First consultation period
AHRA-facilitated Workshops
A series of Australia-wide stakeholder engagement sessions were held throughout March, April and May 2024 to collect stakeholder views on what could be included in the draft Statement. These were facilitated by the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA) and were a combination of in-person and online sessions attended by a total of 440 people. AHRA prepared a report summarising the workshop feedback, which is available in the downloads section below.
Position paper and Environmental scan
NHMRC developed a position paper with advice from CHF and the Consumer Statement Advisory Committee (CSAC) to guide stakeholder involvement in this consultation process. The position paper provided examples of information which could be included in the revised Statement, and posed some specific questions which formed the basis of discussion at the AHRA-led workshops.
At the request of CSAC, NHMRC undertook an environmental scan of relevant grey and academic literature linked to the position paper content. The purpose of the scan was to identify the principles underlying good practice in consumer and community involvement in health and medical research, and roles and responsibilities of funders, research institutions, researchers, and consumers. It is intended to provide a summary of the global literature and should not be read as NHMRC’s position on consumer and community involvement in health and medical research. The position paper and environmental scan are available in the downloads section below.
Consultation Hub survey
Stakeholders who were unable to attend any of the sessions, or who also wished to provide a written response to the questions in the position paper, could provide a submission directly to us through the NHMRC Consultation Hub. Submissions opened on 19 March 2024 and closed on 16 June 2024. Ninety submissions were received through the Consultation Hub, and a further 12 written responses were received via email. The survey and email responses are available on the Consultation Hub and in the downloads section below.
Online engagement report
NHMRC has developed an Online engagement report that summarises and analyses the 102 written responses received through the Consultation Hub survey and via email. The report provides an overview of stakeholder feedback and should not be read as NHMRC’s position on what content will be included in the revised Statement.
2025: Second consultation period
On 12 June 2025, NHMRC and CHF released a draft revised Statement for consultation.
Roundtables facilitated by the Kids Research Institute Australia
Between July and September 2025, the Kids Research Institute Australia facilitated a series of in-person and online roundtables to collect feedback on the draft revised Statement. The roundtables were attended by a total of 497 people. A report on the roundtables is available on the Kids Research Institute Australia website.
Consultation Hub survey
All interested stakeholders were invited to provide written feedback on the draft revised Statement through the Consultation Hub. Submissions opened on 10 July 2025 and closed on 21 September 2025 with 117 responses received.