The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia Ltd (CHF) are reviewing the Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research (the Statement).

The Statement was originally developed in 2006 and last updated in 2016. Its aim is to support consumer and community involvement across all types and levels of health and medical research.

The review will ensure the Statement remains a trusted resource providing national leadership and overarching guidance to support consumer and community involvement in health and medical research. The Statement will be reframed to focus on the principles and values of consumer and community involvement, and the roles and responsibilities of all involved. Implementation matters, or ‘best practice’ consumer and community involvement is out of scope for the review.

As part of this work, a Consumer Statement Advisory Committee (CSAC) comprised of individuals nominated by CHF and nominees from NHMRC’s Consumer and Community Advisory Group has been established to review the Statement and provide advice to CHF and NHMRC.

Further information on CSAC is available under the ‘Committee’ tab.

Stakeholder engagement and involvement

Stakeholders will be involved throughout the review process. Stakeholders include consumers and community representatives, researchers and research administrators, peak bodies, advocates, funders and government.

Stakeholders will be invited to participate in the formal consultation processes outlined under the 'Consultation activities' tab.

Consumer Statement contact list

To ensure that all interested parties have the opportunity to contribute to the review, NHMRC has created a Consumer Statement contact list. All interested stakeholders are invited to submit their contact details to NHMRC at any time throughout the review process. NHMRC will use this contact list during the review to communicate opportunities for involvement and to provide updates on the work.

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