3 July 2020
Australian Clinical Trials Alliance commends the Health Minister’s vision to expedite clinical trials in Australia
Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) has welcomed the announcement by the Health Minister, the Hon Greg Hunt MP, to move with the States and Territories toward a ‘one-stop-shop’ for enhanced trial approvals, during his recent CEDA address.
ACTA Chair, Professor John Zalcberg, said: “In response to COVID-19, we have seen rapid progress and flexibility across the health sector over the last several months and we would like to see that momentum continue.
"COVID-19 has raised public awareness on the value of an agile health system and highlighted the importance of embedding quality clinical trials into practice.
“This is a great opportunity to continue to streamline and simplify our ethics and governance systems to ensure that Australia’s world-leading clinical researchers can focus their time and effort on trial conduct, delivering best practice healthcare to improve health outcomes for patients.
“This is particularly true in time-critical clinical trials that have been absolutely vital to the pandemic response.
“We understand that the Federal Department of Health, together with the States and Territories, have been working towards a National Front Door platform to connect and modernise the governance and ethics systems across the country, and we support this vision,” he said.
Australia is a world‐leader in the conduct of clinical trials, with a strong investigator-led clinical trials sector represented by ACTA. Each year, Australian researchers conduct clinical trials that provide vital evidence that leads to improved clinical practice. These trials frequently result in better outcomes and value for the health system and patients.
There is substantial evidence that participation in clinical trials is associated with better outcomes for patients. Streamlined processes and the embedding of trials within routine healthcare delivery will make trials more accessible, cheaper, faster and easier to establish, ensuring more Australians can benefit from clinical trials.
ACTA continues to work with the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to develop a National Clinical Trials Governance Framework to support the delivery of high-quality clinical trials in Australia.
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Media Contact:
Lisa Reid, Communications Manager, Australian Clinical Trials Alliance on 0419 498 913