01 June 2026
Health Translation Queensland (HTQ), together with its peak body the Australian Health Research Alliance (AHRA), has welcomed the release of the new national Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research, developed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in partnership with the Consumers Health Forum of Australia.
HTQ contributed via AHRA to the development of the new Statement by facilitating consultation workshops in 2024.
HTQ and AHRA support the Statement’s national expectation that consumer and community involvement – including the involvement of people with lived experience – is embedded across all stages of health and medical research, from priority setting and design through to implementation and translation.
Consumer and community involvement is central to ensuring health and medical research is relevant, high quality and responsive to real‑world needs. Meaningful involvement strengthens research integrity, improves applicability to health care settings and increases the likelihood that research translates into real improvements in health outcomes for patients and communities.
AHRA Chair, Professor Carol Hodgson, said the new Statement reinforces that involvement is now an expectation across the entire research system.
“Consumers, communities and people with lived experience bring essential perspectives that help ensure research addresses the issues that matter most,” she said.
“This Statement makes clear that involvement should be embedded from the earliest stages of research and carried through to translation, where research delivers real‑world impact.”
The Statement identifies AHRA and the CCI related Health Research Hub as central to supporting implementation, providing the national research sector with clear guidance, practical resources and a pathway for action.
The Health Research Hub brings together evidence, best‑practice guidance, case studies and tools to support consumer and community involvement across the research lifecycle. It also connects users with their nearest Research Translation Centre to access tailored, local support.
HTQ’s role in supporting the Statement’s implementation
As part of a network of NHMRC accredited and recognised Research Translation Centres, HTQ is supporting implementation of the new Statement locally by:
HTQ’s new Interim Executive Director, Tammy Sovenyhazi, said HTQ’s varied initiatives in the CCI space ensure the Statement leads to action, not just policy, on a local level.
“By working together through the CCI in Research Alliance across HTQ’s partnership and beyond, we can ensure the new national Statement is supported and leads in the long term to improved health outcomes for communities in Queensland,” she said.
Read the NHMRC CHF Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research
Read AHRA’s full media statement
Access CCI Framework
Access the Health Research Hub
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