Cross Jurisdictional Applications

Australian Government Data

Some significant health data relating to WA residents is held by the Australian Federal Government.
This includes information about:

• residential care and related data concerning aged care;
• claims for visits to general practitioners and some other Medicare treatments;
• pharmaceutical claims in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS).

Under the new DATA Scheme, established by the Data Availability and Transparency Act 2022, accredited users can request Australian Government data from a Data Custodian, and an accredited ‘Data Service Provider’ can be used to provide data services to support the data sharing project.

Data Linkage Services at the WA Department of Health is accredited as a Data Service Provider for Complex Data Integration and De-identification services under the DATA Scheme.

Accredited users, including state government bodies and universities, can request Australian Government data for a linkage project in collaboration with Data Linkage Services as an accredited Data Service Provider.

For more information on the DATA Scheme, including user registration and access to Australian Government data, please visit the website of the Office of the National Data Commissioner, and refer to the ONDC guidance documents below: 

Population Health Research Network

Data Linkage Services is a member of the Population Health Research Network (PHRN), an Australian Government collaboration that has built a nationwide data linkage infrastructure. The PHRN is an initiative of the Australian Government, conducted as part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

Data Applicants who are developing a proposal for a study involving cross jurisdictional data linkage are encouraged to contact Policy and Client Services at the PHRN Program Office.

The Program Office can offer advice and assistance with the following:

• Availability and location of datasets;
• Access and approvals processes;
• Costs and pricing for data linkage projects;
• Approximate timeframes from approvals to data delivery; and
• Referrals to Data Linkage Units.

You can find more details about cross-jurisdictional applications on the PHRN website.

Applying for WA linked data as part of a cross jurisdictional project

For multi-jurisdictional linkage projects, Data Applicants may choose to manage their project through the PHRN Online Application System.

Client Services accepts this application form in place of the Department of Health’s Application for Data form, however applications must also include ISPD Client Services forms and Variable Lists – please refer to our Application Forms page for details.

Data Applicants should contact the ISPD Client Services Team as well as the other relevant organisations, for example:

• PHRN Program Office;
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Data Integration Services Centre Unit;
• Curtin University Centre for Data Linkage;
• Secure Unified Research Environment (SURE);
• Commonwealth Department of Health; and
• Other relevant state/territory departments.

We recommend that researchers who are seeking to initiate a cross-jurisdictional linked data project complete the PHRN’s Online Researcher Training module to familiarise themselves with the application and approval process. For more details, you can also refer to the PHRN’s guidance documents below:

Privacy Preserving Record Linkage

Privacy Preserving Record Linkage (PPRL) is a technique that enables data linkage without using personal identifying information. The Department of Health is currently investigating PPRL as a means of facilitating projects where identifiable information cannot otherwise be shared.

If you would like to register your interest in using PPRL for a project, please email our Client Services team, or refer to our PPRL service guide below: