Applying for PeopleWA data

Refer to the following resources to plan your PeopleWA research project:

• Data catalogue to view all available datasets in PeopleWA and their time coverage.
• Technical specification form to outline your data request. This must be sent to the PeopleWA team before your application can be reviewed.
• Template application form to view the application form offline.

Understand our costing model

Access to PeopleWA data is provided via a secure e-Research Platform and costs may apply for usage. Non-government applicants are billed retrospectively every six months or for the duration of access, whichever is shorter. There is no charge for submitting an application, and as such unsuccessful or unapproved applications incur no cost. You can use the PeopleWA Price Estimate Calculator to estimate pricing or request a cost estimate from the PeopleWA team. See the PeopleWA e-Research Platform Pricing page for details.

Tell us about your software needs

If you would like to use custom analytics software within the e-research platform, please tell us as soon as possible. Requests for custom software will be assessed for feasibility and will require more time to setup than a standard environment.

Need assistance?

If you have questions or would like to schedule a pre-lodgement meeting, contact us at peoplewa@dpc.wa.gov.au or call +61 8 6552 6728.

Step 1: PeopleWA team review

Following your submission of the technical specifications and application forms, the PeopleWA team reviews the technical feasibility of your application and may provide feedback. Reviews occur weekly. You can update your application based on any feedback you receive.

Step 2: Data custodian review

Data custodians review your application against legislative requirements and the Five Safes framework. Feedback may be provided, and you can update your application accordingly. For complex or non-standard applications, you may be invited to present your project to the PeopleWA Governance Group during this stage to assist with custodian review.

If endorsed by custodians:

• Research Projects receive in-principle approval, pending Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval (Step 3).
• Service/Quality Improvement Projects receive formal approval (Step 4).

Step 3: Ethical and governance approval

All research applications must be approved by an accredited HREC. If your project involves Department of Health data, you must also obtain approval from the WA Health HREC, in accordance with its Research Governance Framework. This is facilitated via the Research Governance Service.

To support HREC approvals, the Office of Digital Government (DGov) will provide a letter of feasibility and a PeopleWA-specific data management plan. Contact the PeopleWA team for assistance.

You must submit proof of your ethics approval to the PeopleWA team for your application to proceed. Once this is received, DGov will seek formal approval for your project from data custodians (step 4).

Step 4: Formal approval

Once all data custodians relevant to your data request have granted formal approval you will receive an approval letter via email. This letter will confirm your approved datasets and include the PeopleWA terms and conditions.

After your application is approved, you will be contacted to arrange access to a secure project space within the e-Research Platform. Only approved project team members will be granted access to the data.

Sign terms and conditions
Project teams must sign and return the PeopleWA terms and conditions provided for your approved project before data access can be arranged and granted.

Import Requests

All requests to bring external assets – such as contextual data, code, or concordance files – into the environment must be reviewed and approved by the PeopleWA team for security purposes. Please identify these assets (if known) when submitting your application.

Data Exports

All data exports must be approved by the PeopleWA team to protect privacy and maintain data security. Please note that these requests cannot be prioritised over other work and may take a week or more to process.

Publications

As outlined in the PeopleWA Terms and Conditions, all publications must be reviewed by data custodians who approved the data used in the publication before you share them outside your project team. This includes:

• Analysis reports
• Draft journal articles
• Presentations
• Website content

How to submit:

1. Send your draft publication self-assessment form from the ERICA onboarding application pack to PeopleWA@dpc.wa.gov.au. You will receive this pack once your application is approved.
2. PeopleWA and data custodians will review the submitted materials (this requires at least 10 business days).
3. You will be notified once your publication is cleared for release, or whether you are required to make changes.

PhD theses will take longer to review. We encourage students to plan ahead!