Teletrials in Victoria
Teletrials link Victorian health services so trial activities can be delivered closer to participants. They allow local delivery of delegated tasks while maintaining shared oversight across sites.
In Victoria, teletrials are coordinated by the Australian Teletrial Program–Victoria (ATP‑Vic) at Safer Care Victoria. Teletrial methodology can be used for commercial and investigator‑initiated studies and follows the same ethical, governance and safety requirements as all clinical trials.
How teletrials work
A teletrial uses a cluster model to run one clinical trial across multiple sites.
A cluster includes:
- a primary site that coordinates the trial
- one or more satellite sites that deliver delegated trial activities
- a Principal Investigator (PI) at the primary site who provides supervision and oversight.
Telecommunications support collaboration, supervision and shared activities across the cluster, enabling distributed delivery while maintaining clear accountability.
Benefits for health services and trial teams
These benefits support safe, efficient and coordinated trial conduct while expanding access across Victoria:
- stronger collaboration between metropolitan, regional, rural and remote sites
- opportunities to build local clinical trial capability and workforce confidence
- improved recruitment and retention for suitable trials
- flexible trial delivery that supports service capacity and patient access.
Suitability and feasibility considerations
Teletrials may suit a wide range of studies. Feasibility depends on factors such as:
- trial phase and complexity
- safety profile of the intervention
- capability, capacity and experience at each participating site
- ability to maintain effective supervision and oversight across the cluster.
Teletrials can be planned during trial design or introduced later through protocol amendments. ATP‑Vic can provide early advice to support feasibility assessment and site selection.
Roles and responsibilities
Primary sites:
- hold overall responsibility for trial conduct across the cluster
- lead feasibility, governance and initiation activities
- provide ongoing supervision and oversight of all satellite sites.
Satellite sites:
- deliver delegated trial activities locally
- operate under supervision from the primary site
- appoint an Associate Investigator (AI) as the local contact
- ensure approvals, systems, staff and training are in place to perform delegated activities safely.
Setting up teletrials in Victoria
Setting up a teletrial involves several steps in addition to standard clinical trial processes. These steps help ensure consistent oversight, accountability and safe delivery.
These steps include:
- assessing feasibility for the trial and participating sites
- establishing teletrial‑specific agreements and budget arrangements
- developing a supervision plan for each satellite site
- obtaining ethics and governance approvals across the cluster
- completing site initiation and activation.
ATP‑Vic can support health professionals and researchers at each step. For detailed steps and templates, refer to the Guide for Setting Up Teletrials on the Teletrial feasibility resources page.
Support for health professionals and researchers
Support is available for health professionals, researchers, research governance officers and health services across Victoria. This includes:
- feasibility and design advice for incorporating teletrials into new or existing studies
- guidance on governance, supervision and site responsibilities
- access to teletrial templates, checklists and national resources
- assistance for services new to teletrial methodology, including early planning and coordination
- support to access funding.
Contact us
For advice or to discuss a specific study or service, please email rccc@safercare.vic.gov.au or telephone +61 499 810 778.