How to access the NHDH

The following project types are available for the National Health Data Hub (NHDH):

Standard access to the NHDH for analysis purposes

  • Researchers may be granted standard access to the NHDH for analysis purposes for approved projects.
  • Project proposals are assessed in accordance with the agreed uses of the NHDH by the AIHW NHDH Data Custodian. The project description and purpose will need to demonstrate that the project aligns with approved purposes of the NHDH.

If you are interested in accessing the NHDH for research purposes, please reach out to the NHDH team at AIHW for a discussion in the first instance via [email protected].

The general steps to obtain standard access to the NHDH are:

  • Submit a project proposal form for consideration.
  • The project proposal will then be considered for approval by the AIHW Data Custodian, the AIHW Ethics Committee secretary and the NHDH Advisory Committee and other data custodians. Depending on the project, additional HRECs and data custodian approval may be required.
  • Once approval is obtained you will attend onboarding training and your access to the secure access environment will be setup.

To request outputs to be released from the secure access environment you will need to submit an Output Clearance Request Form. A third-party request approval is required to publish and publicly release aggregated data from the NHDH.

For more details, please refer to the NHDH Governance Protocols.

The following flow chart (Figure 1) describes the process for researchers to apply for standard access to the NHDH.

Figure 1: NHDH projects workflow

A multicoloured descending flowchart that describes the process of an NHDH project from start to finish. There are seven steps involved which include the feasibility phase, application phase, approvals phase, onboarding and training, secure access setup, output data release, and project closure.

Linking additional datasets to NHDH for analysis purposes (referred to as NHDH+n projects)

Projects wanting to link non-NHDH datasets to the NHDH will be considered a ‘NHDH+n’ project. These projects require a project proposal form and additional documentation, these are:

  • A feasibility assessment
  • A technical assessment
  • Data custodian agreement
  • AIHW Ethics Committee approval
  • HREC under the NMA scheme approval
  • A Queensland Public Health application is required for the disclosure of any confidential Queensland Health data not already contained within the NHDH.
  • NHDH+n projects that wish to use and link DOMINO data will require a Public Interest Certificate (PIC) to be issued from the Department of Social Services.

Please refer to the NHDH+n Fact sheet [Doc 376 kB] for more information on the NHDH+n project model.

The following flow chart (Figure 2) describes the process for researchers to apply for a NHDH+n project.

Figure 2: NHDH+n workflow

A multicoloured descending flowchart that describes the process of an NHDH+n project from start to finish. There are 10 steps involved which include the feasibility phase, application phase, approvals phase, technical assessment application, technical assessment approval, “+n” data supply, curation and vetting, onboarding and training, secure access setup, output data release, and project closure.

Please refer to Linking data sets to the NHDH for more information.