We’re excited to continue delivering digital research infrastructure to address data challenges facing Australian health and medical researchers in 2026. The year has got off to a busy start for the ARDC’s People Research Data Commons, with 6 new projects launching, and exciting events coming up.
We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events in partnership with the NHMRC and at Digital Health Festival, where you can visit the ARDC booth.
Read on for the latest news, opportunities, events and resources for health and medical research.
Please encourage your colleagues to register their interest in the People Research Data Commons to receive regular updates.
Kind regards,
Dr Adrian Burton
Director, People Research Data Commons
ARDC
Navigating NHMRC/MRFF Open Science Policy Changes with ARDC
Join the ARDC for a webinar series to explore the NHMRC/MRFF Open Science Policy and its impact on the future of research in Australia. The series is designed to help researchers understand the NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy and what it means for research practice in Australia.
The first 2 webinars featured Kate LeMay (NHMRC), Amy Clare (Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing) and Prof Christopher Reid (Monash University, Curtin University, ACTA). Watch the recordings and find resources from the first 2 webinars in the series on our resource page.
Join us for Part 3 of the series on Wednesday.
Part 3: Persistent Identifiers and RAiD >
12:30 pm AEST, Wednesday 13 May
The third session focuses on how persistent identifiers (PIDs), including tools like Research Activity Identifiers (RAiDs), can help researchers better manage, connect and showcase their work in line with expectations from NHMRC and MRFF.
This session provides a clear and practical introduction to the policy from the NHMRC and MRFF, outlining what researchers need to know and how it applies across the research lifecycle.
Speakers
The ARDC invites you to participate in a short survey about your interaction with the ARDC and use of our national research infrastructure and services. The survey will take approximately 5 minutes and is anonymous.
We will use the information you provide to improve the services we deliver and report on user satisfaction to the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program.
Please take a few minutes to provide your input. The survey closes COB Friday 29 May 2026.
Complete the 5-minute survey now >
Towards a ‘Smart’ Health System: Key Takeaways from Australia’s Recent OMOP Events
A recent series of national events hosted by the ARDC and partners focused on advancing the adoption of the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) Common Data Model (CDM) in Australia to support a coordinated Learning Health System.
The OMOP CDM is being implemented nationally through the Australian Health Data Evidence Network (AHDEN), part of the People Research Data Commons.
New NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy Released
The ARDC welcomes the release of the NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy, which highlights the essential role of open, transparent and FAIR research practices — and incorporates several ARDC initiatives that help make this possible.
The policy strengthens Australia’s commitment to ensuring research data is Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), while also respecting the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance.
The policy recommends and encourages:
This policy is an important step toward a more open, robust and collaborative research ecosystem. The ARDC is proud to support the infrastructure, standards and services that help make Open Science the norm across Australia.
Read the new NHMRC and MRFF Open Science Policy.
A Simplified Participation Information Consent Form (PICF) for Health Research >
Clear and accessible consent forms are essential for ethical, trustworthy research, yet many Participant Information and Consent Forms (PICFs) remain long, complex and hard to understand.
Our ARDC resource page highlights the InFORMed PICF template, developed by CT:IQ and supported by the ARDC’s HeSANDA program. The resource explains why informed consent matters, how the template was developed with researchers and consumers across Australia, and explains the benefits of using it.
In March 2026, InFORMED PICF was endorsed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). It is already used by NSW Health, SA Health’s Southern Adelaide Local Health Network (SALHN), Bellberry Ltd and others. In addition, it has been adopted nationally through the National Mutual Acceptance (NMA) Jurisdictional Working Group. The NMA is a national system for mutual acceptance of scientific and ethical review of multi-centre human research projects conducted in publicly funded health services across jurisdictions.
Learn how you can adopt the InFORMed PICF in your own research – explore our resource page.
Toolkit for Clinical Research Data Sharing Frameworks >
The Toolkit for Clinical Research Data Sharing Frameworks is a practical resource developed by the ARDC and CT:IQ to guide the ethical and effective sharing of clinical research data within Australia. Researchers can use this toolkit to navigate the complexities of data sharing, as it provides support for ethics submissions (HREC) and helps identify the governance and operational responsibilities of various institutions.
Unlocking potential: Exploring the new frontier of secondary use of data in healthcare research >
Watch this webinar recording for healthcare trialists and the researcher community who want to be inspired to make the most out of the data they collect to improve health outcomes.
The webinar is proudly brought to you by Monash Partners, Monash University and Health Data Australia. Health Data Australia was developed by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) in partnership with the health research community across Australia via the Health Studies Australian National Data Asset (HeSANDA) program. HeSANDA is providing national infrastructure to enable researchers to access and share data from health studies, including clinical trials, cohort studies, and other data that is valuable for research.
Do more with less: unlock the value of secondary data >
Sharing and reusing clinical trials data allows researchers to save time, reduce duplication and uncover new insights. The ARDC’s Secondary Use of Clinical Trials Data in Health Research: Practical Guide provides a framework for making the most of existing datasets, developed in collaboration with the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre and NextGen Evidence Synthesis Team. The guide outlines 4 key scenarios for secondary use of data: evidence synthesis, secondary analysis, reproducibility and validation, and education and methods development, with practical steps, examples and advice.
Unlock is a Community of Practice dedicated to advancing responsible, secure, and streamlined access to health and research data. In this video, Matthew Gorringe from the Sax Institute provides an overview of the SURE Trusted Research Environment.
People Research Data Commons Engagement
For any queries about the People Research Data Commons, or to request an Overview presentation of ARDC services for your researchers, please contact Dr Richard Ferrers, ARDC Engagement – People Research Data Commons, [email protected] or for general queries about ARDC – [email protected].
The Australian National PID Action Plan 2026 & Call for Stakeholder Participation
The National Persistent Identifier (PID) Action Plan for 2026 has been finalised, outlining a set of collaborative, national-scale actions designed to accelerate Australian research quality, efficiency, and impact through the universal use of persistent identifiers.
To support the sector in realising the overarching National PID Strategy, 3 national Stakeholder Action Groups, originally formed in 2024, will continue in 2026 to collaborate on shared plans and challenges. We are calling for new organisations to join the groups. If interested, review the terms of reference and express your interest using the online form, ideally by 25 May 2026. The groups meet quarterly and we expect them to nominate dedicated working groups to focus on aspects of the 2026 plan.
Share your feedback: Australian Internet Observatory mid-point co-design
The AIO 2026 mid-point co-design process aims to gather input from the broader research community on digital platform research methodologies and on the effective use of the AIO data donation tools and capabilities. Feedback is sought from researchers across HASS, as well as health, environmental science, information and communication technology and other disciplines; researchers and analysts in civil society, government and industry; NRI and research support staff.
Insights from this process will inform future development of the AIO data donation tools and capabilities. Please share your feedback by 31 May 2026.
13 May
Navigating NHMRC/MRFF Open Science Policy Changes with ARDC: PIDs and RAiDs
20 – 21 May
Digital Health Festival 2026 – visit the ARDC booth!
10 – 12 June
ARCS Annual Conference 2026
18 Jun
ARCOS Symposium 2026: Orchestrating AI-Ready Research Infrastructure
23 – 25 Jun
ResBaz Perth 2026
23 – 25 Jun
ResBaz QLD 2026
23 – 24 Jun
Academy for Collaborative Research Infrastructure (ACRI) Conference 2026 – registrations close 29 May
26 – 30 Oct
2026 eResearch Australasia Conference – submit your abstract by 22 June
Read recent journal papers acknowledging ARDC services and ARDC-supported platforms and data assets. When you acknowledge the ARDC, you support our ongoing sustainability.
Liu et al. Extent of Open Science Practices in the Reporting of Real World Evidence Research. International Journal of Population Data Science.
Dao et al. Democratizing open neuroimaging: Neurodesk’s approach to open data accessibility and utilization. Aperture Neuro.
Lian et al. Convergence of plasmid-driven virulence and antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli. Nature Communications
Lamon et al. The transcriptomic signature of age and sex is not conserved in human primary myotubes. Skeletal Muscle.
This update was sent to those who registered their interest in the People Research Data Commons. To register for updates, please complete the form below.
