title: Access to the Commonwealth electoral roll for medical research.
abstract: In the 2010-11 financial 2013, there was a dramatic reduction in the approvals granted by the Australian Electoral Commission for access to samples of the adult population derived from the electoral roll for the purposes of public health research. Much time and effort has been expended in making applications without success. Researchers refused access to electoral roll samples must rely on sampling methods that are not as robust and that may produce less reliable data. We outline a set of recommendations that, if adopted, will result in a fairer system for obtaining access to the electoral roll for public health research.
authors.affiliation: Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. bebe.loff@monash.edu
authors.forename: Bebe
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Loff
authors.forename: Elissa A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Deborah C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: Helen L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kelsall
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Slegers
authors.forename: Deborah R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Zion
authors.forename: Ngaire J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fritschi
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000328:Adult; D001315:Australia; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D006801:Humans; D018907:Privacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence