Health Data Linkage Committee

Background Information

The Centre for Health Record Linkage (CHeReL), hosted by the Cancer Institute NSW, is a collaborative venture funded by eight member organisations (ACT Health, the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission, the Cancer Institute NSW, NSW Department of Health, the Sax Institute, the University of Newcastle, the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney).

Guide to Health Record Linkage Services

For more detailed information regarding CHeReL and information relating to its use, please refer to the CHeReL website for their latest version of the Guide to CHeReL services (PDF).

For information about the linked datasets available and the types of linkage services offered by CHeReL please refer to the CHeReL website.

CHeReL Services available to the University of New South Wales

As a member organisation, UNSW receives back a proportion of its membership fee in ‘free services’. CHeReL services will be available to UNSW researchers to the total value of $80,000 in 2007/08 and $100,000 in 2008/09.

The policy for allocating the free services to UNSW researchers currently mimics the existing University of Sydney model.

Investigators seeking access to the UNSW free services will be expected to fund the remaining cost of the services they require using research funds from other sources.

For further details regarding eligibility criteria, selection criteria and process, and project applications please download Information for Applicants and the Project Application Form.

As noted in the ‘Information for applicants’, researchers will be required to submit a quotation obtained from CHeReL with their application for free CHeReL services. A CHeReL quotation needs at least 2 weeks lead time to prepare; please take this into consideration when planning your application.

Researchers will also be required to submit proof of ethics approval from their host institution and/or the NSW Health and Cancer Institute NSW Population & Health Services Research Ethics Committee on application for CHeReL services.

Centre for Health Record Linkage

Funding Rounds

Now Open - The next round for HDL Committee applications opens Friday (5th September) and will close on Friday 26th September

Closing dates for application. Applications should be received by 5pm on:

• Friday September 26, 2008
• Friday 30 January, 2009

One electronic copy should be sent to

Outcomes of previous funding rounds
Health Data Linkage applications that were successful in previous funding rounds:

Round 1 – 11 April 2008

• Evaluation of stroke outcomes in a large, Australian population: an analysis of linked hospital and mortality data
  M Gattellari, B Jalaludin, J Worthington and M Mohsin

• Morbidity in people with hepatitis B and C in New South Wales
  HF Gidding, MG Law, GJ Dore, J Amin and K Ward

• Australian HIV Observational Database (AHOD) Hospitalisation Linkage Project Protocol
  MG Law, KA Falster, J Anderson, K Watson and S Mallal

• The incidence of cancer and use of chemotherapeutic and biologic agents in Australian veterans
  SA Pearson and R Ward

Further Information
For further information regarding access to University of New South Wales free services, please contact Dr Margaret Faedo on (02) 9382 8861 or

Other Funding available

The Clinical Excellence Commission, also a CHeReL member organisation, will 'fund' projects addressing safety and quality in health care. If you are conducting work of this kind the CEC welcomes applications from researchers to apply for their linkage credits. Information about the CEC linkage access program and application form can be found at http://www.cec.health.nsw.gov.au

Additional information is available by phoning Lesley Harvey (02) 9382 7607 or emailing

UNSW Health Data Linkage Committee Members

Chair – Professor Denis Wakefield

UNSW CHeReL Management Committee Representative – Dr Claire Vajdic