In 2018, Australia still does not have appropriate measures in place to maintain research integrity. And recent changes to our code of research conduct have weakened our already inadequate position.
We agree there needs to be strong central facilitation of both good practice and oversight of the substance of review decisions. There is no clear way for issues to be shared across the sector. Within the national framework we have, institutions must establish robust arrangements that are transparent and effective – there must be an investment in the culture of research practice.
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Australia risks its reputation by turning in the opposite direction.|
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For science to progress efficiently, and to remain credible, we need good governance structures, and as transparent and open a system as possible. Measures are needed to identify and correct errors, and to rectify misbehaviour.
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In Australia, one such measure is the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research. But recently published revisions of this code allow research integrity to be handled internally by institutions, and investigations to be kept secret. This puts at risk the hundreds of millions of dollars provided by the taxpayer to fund research.
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