Document is current

Article History

Received: 9 January 2018

Accepted: 22 May 2018

First Online: 1 June 2018

Ethics approval and consent to participate

: Ethical approval for the project was received from the Department of Health Human Research Ethics Committee, the Western Australian Aboriginal Health Ethics Committee, and the University of South Australia Human Research Ethics Committee.The study uses data that is routinely collected by the Department of Justice and other Western Australian Government departments and services and linked for research purposes by the Western Australian Data Linkage Branch. In cases such as this the National Health and Medical Research Council outlines in the National Statement on Conduct in Human Research the requirements for waiver of consent. Under the National Statement, a Human Research Ethics Council can grant a waiver of consent if it is satisfied certain conditions have been met. The criteria for allowing a waiver listed under the National Statement apply to the project. Specifically as the project carries no more than a low risk; it is not feasible to obtain consent due to the age and quantity of the data required; and measures are being taken to ensure the continued protection of the confidentiality of the data.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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