UQ Data Sharing Agreements

A data sharing agreement (DSA) is a form which outlines a request for UQ corporate data. These requests are submitted to the Data Strategy and Governance team and reviewed by the relevant Information Stewards (view the Information Governance and Management Framework for more detail on Information Stewards).

DSAs are an important control to ensure that UQ’s data remains secure and is used ethically and in line with UQ’s legislative obligations. The DSA form requires staff requesting data to indicate: 

• The purpose of the request - i.e. what the data will be used for.
• Who will have access to the requested data, and how will the data be secured.
• Whether the data contains personal information.
• Whether the request includes Indigenous data.
• How long the data is required for.
• Whether the request meets UQ’s corporate data ethics principles.  

Download the data sharing agreement form (DOCX, 89.7 KB)

Data sharing agreements with complex ethical issues can be referred by Data Strategy and Governance to the Ethical Data Use Review Committee, which can meet on request to provide recommendations to Information Stewards. View the terms of reference for the Ethical Data Use Review Committee (DOCX, 66.2 KB).

Data sharing agreements (DSAs) are predominantly used to oversee requests for data for reporting or analytics purposes. They are typically required when:

• an individual/group requires access to data they don’t have access to as part of fulfilling their role (i.e. not an operational requirement), 
• an individual/group is proposing to use data they already have access to in a novel way that’s not part of their usual role (e.g. combining data sets to gain new insights), or
• UQ is proposing to provide data to a third party, and there is not an existing agreement in place that covers provision of data (including approval from relevant Information Stewards). 

A DSA is not required to access Reportal data or research data. A DSA is no longer required to request data integrations. Visit the request access to data page for more information on:

• access to Reportal data
• access to research data
• data integration requests. 

The following diagram may help you determine if you need to complete a data sharing agreement (for internal data sharing). If you are unsure if you require a data sharing agreement, please email the Data Strategy and Governance team to discuss.

Data sharing agreements allow UQ to: 

• Manage access to data via Information Stewards. 
• Ensure that ethical and legislative obligations are met regarding data use, before access is provisioned. This is particularly important for requests to use or access personal information. 
• Protect UQ’s data by ensuring only authorised persons have access, and ensuring that individuals store data in secure, UQ-approved locations.
• Have appropriate oversight of data sharing across the University to support mature privacy and information security practices. 

Benefits of data sharing agreements

Watch the below interviews with Information Stewards to learn more about data sharing agreements and their benefits.

Interview with Dr Greg Winslett

Interview with Dr David Stockdale

For more information on data sharing agreements contact the Data Strategy and Governance Team.