Post Authorisation Notification2024-10-14T14:36:15+10:00

Post Authorisation Notification 

Submit a post authorisation notification

Any changes to a research project that affect site authorisation must be submitted as a post authorisation notification (PAN) to the Metro North Research Governance Office for review via ERM.

At a minimum, PANs should include:

Submit via Ethics Review Manager
ERM User Guide and FAQs documents

What is a post authorisation notification?

Site-authorisation incorporates institutional due diligence processes that assess legal, financial, resource, regulatory and contractual considerations of a research project and ensures all research conducted under the auspices of Metro North Health is properly assessed, accounted for, and governed.

Any changes to the authorised site documentation must be submitted as a PAN via ERM.

This includes HREC amendments that also impact the site activities or changes to the protocol or participant information sheet.

HREC amendment approval is required before authorisation of a PAN can be granted.

Changes to associate investigators that do not impact the study or transfer of data do not require governance approval. These changes do not require a PAN and can be managed via the study delegation log.

Cover letter

A cover letter is a mandatory requirement for all PAN’s.

The cover letter must detail the PAN, including the rationale for change and provide a summary of the HREC amendment approvals, including all documents approved by the HREC.

Depending on the types of changes outlined in the PAN, the cover letter must address any site authorisation implications such as budget and resource implications, impacted supporting departments, new external collaborators that require contracts, and approval of site-specific PICFs or other supporting documents.
Complete the PAN cover letter template

Study Documents

All study documents must have version control identifiers in the footer i.e. version numbers, dates and page numbers. The version control identifiers on the document must match the study document list in the cover letter.

Metro North is the reviewing HREC

Where Metro North is the reviewing HREC, copies of approved documents do not need to be attached to the PAN.

Any site-specific documents created from the approved master documents should be submitted for review.

The full list of approved documents must be provided in the cover letter.

Metro North is not the reviewing HREC

Where Metro North is not the reviewing HREC, copies of the approved documents must be uploaded with the PAN.

For changes to the Principal Investigator, a Curriculum Vitae/Resume must be provided

For protocol amendments, the track changed version and clean version approved by the HREC must be provided.

For changes to the PICF and other supporting documents, the track changed version and clean version approved by the HREC must be uploaded.

Fee template

The relevant fee template must be completed and submitted with the application. The inclusion of a fee template, or justification as to no requirement for a fee template must be included in the cover letter.

Related Information

HREC amendments

All site amendments must first be submitted to the reviewing HREC for approval.

Annual report

Ongoing ethical approval is now contingent upon the submission of an Annual Progress Report, to be received by 30 April each year. 

Reporting adverse events

The reporting of adverse events is an important mandatory safety and monitoring requirement of clinical trials.  

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