Common use of Data and Evaluation Clause in Contracts

Data and Evaluation. 80. The Parties recognise that comprehensive, accurate and accessible information is critical to mental health and suicide prevention system reform. 81. The Parties recognise the commitment made under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing between Commonwealth and State and Territory governments, which commits all parties to share public sector data as a default position where it can be done securely, safely, lawfully and ethically. The Parties also recognise the role of whole of government data activities outlined in Schedule A [refer Schedule A - Improving Mental Health and Preventing Suicide Across Systems]. 82. The Parties commit to continue collaborating to build the data and systems needed to understand and improve: (a) Population mental health and wellbeing. (b) The quality, safety and effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention system. (c) Evaluation, transparency, reporting and accountability. (d) Progress against the National Agreement on Closing the Gap commitments, including Outcome 14 (Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing), and Target 14 (significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Islander peoples towards zero). (e) Mental health and suicide prevention workforce planning. 83. The Parties agree to: (a) Monitor and evaluate the mental health and suicide prevention system, including activities in this Agreement and associated Schedules, against the National Mental Health Performance Framework 2020 and future editions or other nationally agreed frameworks. (b) The principles and priorities outlined in the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Information Development Priorities, Third Edition and future editions. 84. To oversee this work, the Parties agree to establish an appropriate governance forum, reporting to the HSO, with input from people with lived experience of mental illness and/or suicide and Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Strait Islander peoples that will: (a) Agree on authorising frameworks and systems for data sharing and linking. (b) Improve national consistency in Commonwealth, state and territory data collections, and agree minimum data specifications for jointly funded programs. (c) Agree appropriate measurement and monitoring methodologies, including metrics for priority Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), that support evaluation of services and the mental health system against agreed objectives and outcomes. (d) Provide technical advice on other data and outcomes activities, including data for the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework. 85. The Parties acknowledge the strong alignment between the activities outlined in this Agreement and those reforms agreed to within the NHRA (including but not limited to Enhanced Health Data), and commit to collaborate and share learnings between these reforms to support and strengthen common activities and products. 86. The Parties agree the priority areas for action are to: (a) Improve data collection and data sharing, balanced with a focus on reducing burdensome and duplicative data collection, sharing and reporting. (b) Support national data linkage and sharing of linked data, for use in policy, planning, commissioning, system management, evaluation and performance reporting. (c) Improve reporting and transparency and drive system improvement. (d) Build an evidence base that sustains ongoing system improvement. 87. The Parties seek to maximise the value of using data to improve outcomes for the Australian community in a manner that maintains public trust and adheres to the Privacy Xxx 0000, Australian Privacy Principles and other relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation. 88. The Parties, through the governance forum, agree to: (a) Maintain and improve measurement of individual, at-risk cohorts, and population mental health status and the prevalence of mental disorders. (b) Develop and maintain national datasets and resources (see Annex A) to enable monitoring and evaluation of mental health and suicide prevention services, including jointly funded programs delivered through this Agreement. (c) Prioritise the collection of data required for monitoring and evaluating progress against the objectives of this Agreement and associated Schedules, including jointly funded services, and determining performance against KPIs. (d) Streamline the collection and management of existing datasets to minimise collection burden, reduce duplication and improve national consistency. Policies will minimise service delivery organisations having to report the same information multiple times. (e) Share agreed up-to-date data items, between governments and with commissioning organisations and mental health and suicide prevention service providers, including non-government providers. Data items to be shared, and frequency of sharing, will be agreed through the governance forum. (f) Share data with as much geographic and demographic detail as possible according to the “Five Safes 1” principles. (g) Establish a governance framework and technical systems to enable data sharing, and commence agreed routine data sharing, by the end of the second year of this Agreement. (h) Once data sharing is enabled in accordance with Clause 88(g), share agreed data items quarterly, and agree to more frequent sharing where required. 89. The States will continue to collect and share state and territory delivered mental health service data, including hospital, specialised mental health services and other mental health program data, and consumer outcome data, and continue to develop and refine those collections to improve system coverage and national consistency where not over-burdensome or duplicative. 90. The Commonwealth will collect and share data on Commonwealth funded mental health and suicide prevention services, including Primary Heath Network (PHN) services and consumer outcome data, Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data, and continue to develop and refine those collections to improve system coverage and national consistency. 91. The Commonwealth will provide funding to maintain national data infrastructure for national data collections, including but not limited to the Mental Health National Minimum Datasets (NMDS). States will fund the development, collection, and supply of data from their jurisdictions referred to in Clause 89 [two clauses above] into the NMDS. 92. The Parties agree to: (a) Establish processes that enable the routine linking of national data, including mental health data linked with data from other health, human services (including education, housing and justice), government and survey datasets, to the maximum extent allowable by relevant national and state legislation. (b) Establish a governance framework and technical systems to enable data linkage by a suitably accredited linkage authority or authorities. (c) Consider emerging developments in national data sharing or linkage solutions that may assist in facilitating a national data asset. (d) Ensure that any data linkage preserves privacy and confidentiality and abides by relevant Commonwealth and state and territory legislation. (e) Consider the amendment of legislation to enable data linkage where regulatory or legislative barriers to data sharing and/or linkage are identified as soon as possible following commencement of this Agreement. (f) Develop a strategy for safe storage and approved use of linked data. The strategy will explore the best combination of a national data asset, to support a truly national view, 1 Safe People; Safe Projects; Safe Settings; Safe Data; Safe Outputs. with local storage of linked data to support responsive local analysis by states and territories. (g) Develop frameworks and procedures for researchers and other organisations not party to this Agreement to seek access to linked data for approved purposes. 93. The Commonwealth will provide funding to conduct national data linkage and facilitate safe access to national linked data assets by authorised analysts, where held by the Commonwealth. 94. The Commonwealth will ensure: (a) A subset of data for agreed priority items is supplied, linked and available to the Parties for analysis within the first 18 months of this Agreement, subject to the Parties supplying the required data within the first twelve months of this Agreement. (b) Broader linked data will be available to the Parties within 30 months of this Agreement. 95. The States will provide funding in their own jurisdiction to ensure the agreed priority items are supplied, and available to the Parties for analysis within the first twelve months of this Agreement. 96. The Parties agree to: (a) Develop and report on a range of indicators, outcomes measures and KPIs which reflect the objectives and goals of this Agreement (Annex B) including having a whole- of-government focus where relevant. (b) Develop specific KPIs for vulnerable cohorts and regional, rural and remote areas to ensure that outcomes for these groups are a priority focus. (c) Work together to develop data collection requirements, indicator specifications, and analysis processes to enable reporting on the KPIs. (d) Develop a detailed technical implementation plan for the agreed KPIs within the first twelve months of this Agreement and commence reporting against KPIs in the second year of this Agreement. (e) Develop processes for reporting of detailed, locally relevant, and timely data to service funders, service providers, and the public. Wherever possible, data should be reported quarterly, with detail provided for local regions (Statistical Area Level 3 or equivalent) and provider organisations. 97. The Parties will work together to evaluate jointly funded programs implemented under the associated Schedules as per the clauses outlined in the Schedules. 98. The Parties agree that a robust information and evidence base is needed to improve programs, policies, and outcomes for people with mental health issues, including those at risk of or experiencing suicidal distress, and their families and carers. The Parties will support improvements across the whole mental health and suicide prevention system by: (a) Supporting use of available data for evaluations, including linked datasets, national priority KPIs (Annex B) and where possible, work towards consistent outcome measures appropriate to the program. (b) Collaborating to conduct system evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention system. (c) Making investment decisions that are appropriately informed by evaluation, while supporting new and innovative initiatives to be trialled and tested. (d) Considering the approach to evaluation outlined in Annex C when assessing government investment in mental health and suicide prevention where appropriate and possible, including nationally consistent approaches to measuring effectiveness and efficiency and using evaluation to inform investment decisions. 99. The Parties agree to share evaluation findings: (a) Between government and with commissioning organisations, service providers and the public where appropriate. (b) According to guideline to be developed and agreed by HSO within six months of this Agreement. 100. The Parties agree to contribute funding to engage an external consultant to undertake a costings exercise for the development of a national evaluation framework. The evaluation framework must ensure nationally consistent evaluation methodologies and be supported by an inter- jurisdictional working group. 101. Subject to all Parties agreeing to co-contribute to the cost of its development, the national evaluation framework will be developed within the first twelve months of this Agreement. 102. The Parties, through the governance forum, will: (a) Develop a national evaluation framework including nationally consistent evaluation methodologies within the first twelve months of this Agreement. (b) Develop national guidance on domains and measures to assess effectiveness and efficiency of programs within the second year of this Agreement and support the use of these domains and measures (Annex C). (c) Provide coordination of national mental health and suicide prevention program evaluation, and advocate for a more robust and consistent evaluation methodology. (d) Ensure that all Parties meet their program evaluation commitments as outlined in the Schedules. (e) Provide advice to Health Chief Executives and the HSO on priority aspects of the mental health and suicide prevention system requiring evaluation. (f) Facilitate the sharing and publication of evaluation findings according to the guidelines agreed by HSO. (g) Facilitate progress reporting for this Agreement [see Part 6 - Reporting] (h) Consider a role for the National Mental Health Commission in monitoring and enabling the evaluation activities in this Agreement. 103. Health Chief Executives and Mental Health CEOs will consider proposals put forward by the Parties for national evaluations of the mental health and suicide prevention system or programs of national significance and determine appropriate cost sharing mechanisms for any supported proposals.

Data and Evaluation. ‌ 80. The Parties recognise that comprehensive, accurate and accessible information is critical to mental health and suicide prevention system reform. 81. The Parties recognise the commitment made under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing between Commonwealth and State and Territory governments, which commits all parties to share public sector data as a default position where it can be done securely, safely, lawfully and ethically. The Parties also recognise the role of whole of government data activities outlined in Schedule A [refer Schedule A - Improving Mental Health and Preventing Suicide Across Systems]. 82. The Parties commit to continue collaborating to build the data and systems needed to understand and improve: (a) Population mental health and wellbeing. (b) The quality, safety and effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention system. (c) Evaluation, transparency, reporting and accountability. (d) Progress against the National Agreement on Closing the Gap commitments, including Outcome 14 (Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Strait Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing), and Target 14 (significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Islander peoples towards zero). (e) Mental health and suicide prevention workforce planning. 83. The Parties agree to: (a) Monitor and evaluate the mental health and suicide prevention system, including activities in this Agreement and associated Schedules, against the National Mental Health Performance Framework 2020 and future editions or other nationally agreed frameworks. (b) The principles and priorities outlined in the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Information Development Priorities, Third Edition and future editions. 84. To oversee this work, the Parties agree to establish an appropriate governance forum, reporting to the HSO, with input from people with lived experience of mental illness and/or suicide and Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Strait Islander peoples that will: (a) Agree on authorising frameworks and systems for data sharing and linking. (b) Improve national consistency in Commonwealth, state and territory data collections, and agree minimum data specifications for jointly funded programs. (c) Agree appropriate measurement and monitoring methodologies, including metrics for priority Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), that support evaluation of services and the mental health system against agreed objectives and outcomes. (d) Provide technical advice on other data and outcomes activities, including data for the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework. 85. The Parties acknowledge the strong alignment between the activities outlined in this Agreement and those reforms agreed to within the NHRA (including but not limited to Enhanced Health Data), and commit to collaborate and share learnings between these reforms to support and strengthen common activities and products. 86. The Parties agree the priority areas for action are to: (a) Improve data collection and data sharing, balanced with a focus on reducing burdensome and duplicative data collection, sharing and reporting. (b) Support national data linkage and sharing of linked data, for use in policy, planning, commissioning, system management, evaluation and performance reporting. (c) Improve reporting and transparency and drive system improvement. (d) Build an evidence base that sustains ongoing system improvement. 87. The Parties seek to maximise the value of using data to improve outcomes for the Australian community in a manner that maintains public trust and adheres to the Privacy Xxx 0000, Australian Privacy Principles and other relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation.. Improve data collection and data sharing‌ 88. The Parties, through the governance forum, agree to: (a) Maintain and improve measurement of individual, at-risk cohorts, and population mental health status and the prevalence of mental disorders. (b) Develop and maintain national datasets and resources (see Annex A) to enable monitoring and evaluation of mental health and suicide prevention services, including jointly funded programs delivered through this Agreement. (c) Prioritise the collection of data required for monitoring and evaluating progress against the objectives of this Agreement and associated Schedules, including jointly funded services, and determining performance against KPIs. (d) Streamline the collection and management of existing datasets to minimise collection burden, reduce duplication and improve national consistency. Policies will minimise service delivery organisations having to report the same information multiple times. (e) Share agreed up-to-date data items, between governments and with commissioning organisations and mental health and suicide prevention service providers, including non-government providers. Data items to be shared, and frequency of sharing, will be agreed through the governance forum. (f) Share data with as much geographic and demographic detail as possible according to the “Five Safes 1” principles. (g) Establish a governance framework and technical systems to enable data sharing, and commence agreed routine data sharing, by the end of the second year of this Agreement. (h) Once data sharing is enabled in accordance with Clause 88(g), share agreed data items quarterly, and agree to more frequent sharing where required. 89. The States will continue to collect and share state and territory delivered mental health service data, including hospital, specialised mental health services and other mental health program data, and consumer outcome data, and continue to develop and refine those collections to improve system coverage and national consistency where not over-burdensome or duplicative. 90. The Commonwealth will collect and share data on Commonwealth funded mental health and suicide prevention services, including Primary Heath Network (PHN) services and consumer outcome data, Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data, and continue to develop and refine those collections to improve system coverage and national consistency. 91. The Commonwealth will provide funding to maintain national data infrastructure for national data collections, including but not limited to the Mental Health National Minimum Datasets (NMDS). States will fund the development, collection, and supply of data from their jurisdictions referred to in Clause 89 [two clauses above] into the NMDS.. Support national data linkage and sharing of linked data, for use in policy, planning system management, evaluation and performance reporting‌ 92. The Parties agree to: (a) Establish processes that enable the routine linking of national data, including mental health data linked with data from other health, human services (including education, housing and justice), government and survey datasets, to the maximum extent allowable by relevant national and state legislation. (b) Establish a governance framework and technical systems to enable data linkage by a suitably accredited linkage authority or authorities. (c) Consider emerging developments in national data sharing or linkage solutions that may assist in facilitating a national data asset. (d) Ensure that any data linkage preserves privacy and confidentiality and abides by relevant Commonwealth and state and territory legislation. (e) Consider the amendment of legislation to enable data linkage where regulatory or legislative barriers to data sharing and/or linkage are identified as soon as possible following commencement of this Agreement. (f) Develop a strategy for safe storage and approved use of linked data. The strategy will explore the best combination of a national data asset, to support a truly national view, 1 Safe People; Safe Projects; Safe Settings; Safe Data; Safe Outputs. with local storage of linked data to support responsive local analysis by states and territories. (g) Develop frameworks and procedures for researchers and other organisations not party to this Agreement to seek access to linked data for approved purposes. 93. The Commonwealth will provide funding to conduct national data linkage and facilitate safe access to national linked data assets by authorised analysts, where held by the Commonwealth. 94. The Commonwealth will ensure: (a) A subset of data for agreed priority items is supplied, linked and available to the Parties for analysis within the first 18 months of this Agreement, subject to the Parties supplying the required data within the first twelve months of this Agreement. (b) Broader linked data will be available to the Parties within 30 months of this Agreement. 95. The States will provide funding in their own jurisdiction to ensure the agreed priority items are supplied, and available to the Parties for analysis within the first twelve months of this Agreement.. Increase reporting and transparency, and drive system improvement‌ 96. The Parties agree to: (a) Develop and report on a range of indicators, outcomes measures and KPIs which reflect the objectives and goals of this Agreement (Annex B) including having a whole- of-government focus where relevant. (b) Develop specific KPIs for vulnerable cohorts and regional, rural and remote areas to ensure that outcomes for these groups are a priority focus. (c) Work together to develop data collection requirements, indicator specifications, and analysis processes to enable reporting on the KPIs. (d) Develop a detailed technical implementation plan for the agreed KPIs within the first twelve months of this Agreement and commence reporting against KPIs in the second year of this Agreement. (e) Develop processes for reporting of detailed, locally relevant, and timely data to service funders, service providers, and the public. Wherever possible, data should be reported quarterly, with detail provided for local regions (Statistical Area Level 3 or equivalent) and provider organisations.. Strengthening evaluation culture to measure the impact of programs‌ 97. The Parties will work together to evaluate jointly funded programs implemented under the associated Schedules as per the clauses outlined in the Schedules. 98. The Parties agree that a robust information and evidence base is needed to improve programs, policies, and outcomes for people with mental health issues, including those at risk of or experiencing suicidal distress, and their families and carers. The Parties will support improvements across the whole mental health and suicide prevention system by: (a) Supporting use of available data for evaluations, including linked datasets, national priority KPIs (Annex B) and where possible, work towards consistent outcome measures appropriate to the program. (b) Collaborating to conduct system evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention system. (c) Making investment decisions that are appropriately informed by evaluation, while supporting new and innovative initiatives to be trialled and tested. (d) Considering the approach to evaluation outlined in Annex C when assessing government investment in mental health and suicide prevention where appropriate and possible, including nationally consistent approaches to measuring effectiveness and efficiency and using evaluation to inform investment decisions. 99. The Parties agree to share evaluation findings: (a) Between government and with commissioning organisations, service providers and the public where appropriate. (b) According to guideline to be developed and agreed by HSO within six months of this Agreement. 100. The Parties agree to contribute funding to engage an external consultant to undertake a costings exercise for the development of a national evaluation framework. The evaluation framework must ensure nationally consistent evaluation methodologies and be supported by an inter- jurisdictional working group. 101. Subject to all Parties agreeing to co-contribute to the cost of its development, the national evaluation framework will be developed within the first twelve months of this Agreement. 102. The Parties, through the governance forum, will: (a) Develop a national evaluation framework including nationally consistent evaluation methodologies within the first twelve months of this Agreement. (b) Develop national guidance on domains and measures to assess effectiveness and efficiency of programs within the second year of this Agreement and support the use of these domains and measures (Annex C). (c) Provide coordination of national mental health and suicide prevention program evaluation, and advocate for a more robust and consistent evaluation methodology. (d) Ensure that all Parties meet their program evaluation commitments as outlined in the Schedules. (e) Provide advice to Health Chief Executives and the HSO on priority aspects of the mental health and suicide prevention system requiring evaluation. (f) Facilitate the sharing and publication of evaluation findings according to the guidelines agreed by HSO. (g) Facilitate progress reporting for this Agreement [see Part 6 - Reporting] (h) Consider a role for the National Mental Health Commission in monitoring and enabling the evaluation activities in this Agreement. 103. Health Chief Executives and Mental Health CEOs will consider proposals put forward by the Parties for national evaluations of the mental health and suicide prevention system or programs of national significance and determine appropriate cost sharing mechanisms for any supported proposals.

Data and Evaluation. 80. The Parties recognise that comprehensive, accurate and accessible information is critical to mental health and suicide prevention system reform. 81. The Parties recognise the commitment made under the Intergovernmental Agreement on Data Sharing between Commonwealth and State and Territory governments, which commits all parties to share public sector data as a default position where it can be done securely, safely, lawfully and ethically. The Parties also recognise the role of whole of government data activities outlined in Schedule A [refer Schedule A - Improving Mental Health and Preventing Suicide Across Systems]. 82. The Parties commit to continue collaborating to build the data and systems needed to understand and improve: (a) Population mental health and wellbeing. (b) The quality, safety and effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention system. (c) Evaluation, transparency, reporting and accountability. (d) Progress against the National Agreement on Closing the Gap commitments, including Outcome 14 (Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Strait Xxxxxx Islander people enjoy high levels of social and emotional wellbeing), and Target 14 (significant and sustained reduction in suicide of Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Xxxxxx Islander peoples towards zero). (e) Mental health and suicide prevention workforce planning. 83. The Parties agree to: (a) Monitor and evaluate the mental health and suicide prevention system, including activities in this Agreement and associated Schedules, against the National Mental Health Performance Framework 2020 and future editions or other nationally agreed frameworks. (b) The principles and priorities outlined in the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Information Development Priorities, Third Edition and future editions. 84. To oversee this work, the Parties agree to establish an appropriate governance forum, reporting to the HSO, with input from people with lived experience of mental illness and/or suicide and Aboriginal and Xxxxxx Strait Xxxxxx Islander peoples that will: (a) Agree on authorising frameworks and systems for data sharing and linking. (b) Improve national consistency in Commonwealth, state and territory data collections, and agree minimum data specifications for jointly funded programs. (c) Agree appropriate measurement and monitoring methodologies, including metrics for priority Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), that support evaluation of services and the mental health system against agreed objectives and outcomes. (d) Provide technical advice on other data and outcomes activities, including data for the National Mental Health Service Planning Framework. 85. The Parties acknowledge the strong alignment between the activities outlined in this Agreement and those reforms agreed to within the NHRA (including but not limited to Enhanced Health Data), and commit to collaborate and share learnings between these reforms to support and strengthen common activities and products. 86. The Parties agree the priority areas for action are to: (a) Improve data collection and data sharing, balanced with a focus on reducing burdensome and duplicative data collection, sharing and reporting. (b) Support national data linkage and sharing of linked data, for use in policy, planning, commissioning, system management, evaluation and performance reporting. (c) Improve reporting and transparency and drive system improvement. (d) Build an evidence base that sustains ongoing system improvement. 87. The Parties seek to maximise the value of using data to improve outcomes for the Australian community in a manner that maintains public trust and adheres to the Privacy Xxx 0000Act 1988, Australian Privacy Principles and other relevant Commonwealth, State and Territory legislation. 88. The Parties, through the governance forum, agree to: (a) Maintain and improve measurement of individual, at-risk cohorts, and population mental health status and the prevalence of mental disorders. (b) Develop and maintain national datasets and resources (see Annex A) to enable monitoring and evaluation of mental health and suicide prevention services, including jointly funded programs delivered through this Agreement. (c) Prioritise the collection of data required for monitoring and evaluating progress against the objectives of this Agreement and associated Schedules, including jointly funded services, and determining performance against KPIs. (d) Streamline the collection and management of existing datasets to minimise collection burden, reduce duplication and improve national consistency. Policies will minimise service delivery organisations having to report the same information multiple times. (e) Share agreed up-to-date data items, between governments and with commissioning organisations and mental health and suicide prevention service providers, including non-government providers. Data items to be shared, and frequency of sharing, will be agreed through the governance forum. (f) Share data with as much geographic and demographic detail as possible according to the “Five Safes 1” principles. (g) Establish a governance framework and technical systems to enable data sharing, and commence agreed routine data sharing, by the end of the second year of this Agreement. (h) Once data sharing is enabled in accordance with Clause 88(g), share agreed data items quarterly, and agree to more frequent sharing where required. 89. The States will continue to collect and share state and territory delivered mental health service data, including hospital, specialised mental health services and other mental health program data, and consumer outcome data, and continue to develop and refine those collections to improve system coverage and national consistency where not over-burdensome or duplicative. 90. The Commonwealth will collect and share data on Commonwealth funded mental health and suicide prevention services, including Primary Heath Network (PHN) services and consumer outcome data, Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) data, and continue to develop and refine those collections to improve system coverage and national consistency. 91. The Commonwealth will provide funding to maintain national data infrastructure for national data collections, including but not limited to the Mental Health National Minimum Datasets (NMDS). States will fund the development, collection, and supply of data from their jurisdictions referred to in Clause 89 [two clauses above] into the NMDS. 92. The Parties agree to: (a) Establish processes that enable the routine linking of national data, including mental health data linked with data from other health, human services (including education, housing and justice), government and survey datasets, to the maximum extent allowable by relevant national and state legislation. (b) Establish a governance framework and technical systems to enable data linkage by a suitably accredited linkage authority or authorities. (c) Consider emerging developments in national data sharing or linkage solutions that may assist in facilitating a national data asset. (d) Ensure that any data linkage preserves privacy and confidentiality and abides by relevant Commonwealth and state and territory legislation. (e) Consider the amendment of legislation to enable data linkage where regulatory or legislative barriers to data sharing and/or linkage are identified as soon as possible following commencement of this Agreement. (f) Develop a strategy for safe storage and approved use of linked data. The strategy will explore the best combination of a national data asset, to support a truly national view, 1 Safe People; Safe Projects; Safe Settings; Safe Data; Safe Outputs. with local storage of linked data to support responsive local analysis by states and territories. (g) Develop frameworks and procedures for researchers and other organisations not party to this Agreement to seek access to linked data for approved purposes. 93. The Commonwealth will provide funding to conduct national data linkage and facilitate safe access to national linked data assets by authorised analysts, where held by the Commonwealth. 94. The Commonwealth will ensure: (a) A subset of data for agreed priority items is supplied, linked and available to the Parties for analysis within the first 18 months of this Agreement, subject to the Parties supplying the required data within the first twelve months of this Agreement. (b) Broader linked data will be available to the Parties within 30 months of this Agreement. 95. The States will provide funding in their own jurisdiction to ensure the agreed priority items are supplied, and available to the Parties for analysis within the first twelve months of this Agreement. 96. The Parties agree to: (a) Develop and report on a range of indicators, outcomes measures and KPIs which reflect the objectives and goals of this Agreement (Annex B) including having a whole- of-government focus where relevant. (b) Develop specific KPIs for vulnerable cohorts and regional, rural and remote areas to ensure that outcomes for these groups are a priority focus. (c) Work together to develop data collection requirements, indicator specifications, and analysis processes to enable reporting on the KPIs. (d) Develop a detailed technical implementation plan for the agreed KPIs within the first twelve months of this Agreement and commence reporting against KPIs in the second year of this Agreement. (e) Develop processes for reporting of detailed, locally relevant, and timely data to service funders, service providers, and the public. Wherever possible, data should be reported quarterly, with detail provided for local regions (Statistical Area Level 3 or equivalent) and provider organisations. 97. The Parties will work together to evaluate jointly funded programs implemented under the associated Schedules as per the clauses outlined in the Schedules. 98. The Parties agree that a robust information and evidence base is needed to improve programs, policies, and outcomes for people with mental health issues, including those at risk of or experiencing suicidal distress, and their families and carers. The Parties will support improvements across the whole mental health and suicide prevention system by: (a) Supporting use of available data for evaluations, including linked datasets, national priority KPIs (Annex B) and where possible, work towards consistent outcome measures appropriate to the program. (b) Collaborating to conduct system evaluation to assess the effectiveness of the mental health and suicide prevention system. (c) Making investment decisions that are appropriately informed by evaluation, while supporting new and innovative initiatives to be trialled and tested. (d) Considering the approach to evaluation outlined in Annex C when assessing government investment in mental health and suicide prevention where appropriate and possible, including nationally consistent approaches to measuring effectiveness and efficiency and using evaluation to inform investment decisions. 99. The Parties agree to share evaluation findings: (a) Between government and with commissioning organisations, service providers and the public where appropriate. (b) According to guideline to be developed and agreed by HSO within six months of this Agreement. 100. The Parties agree to contribute funding to engage an external consultant to undertake a costings exercise for the development of a national evaluation framework. The evaluation framework must ensure nationally consistent evaluation methodologies and be supported by an inter- jurisdictional working group. 101. Subject to all Parties agreeing to co-contribute to the cost of its development, the national evaluation framework will be developed within the first twelve months of this Agreement. 102. The Parties, through the governance forum, will: (a) Develop a national evaluation framework including nationally consistent evaluation methodologies within the first twelve months of this Agreement. (b) Develop national guidance on domains and measures to assess effectiveness and efficiency of programs within the second year of this Agreement and support the use of these domains and measures (Annex C). (c) Provide coordination of national mental health and suicide prevention program evaluation, and advocate for a more robust and consistent evaluation methodology. (d) Ensure that all Parties meet their program evaluation commitments as outlined in the Schedules. (e) Provide advice to Health Chief Executives and the HSO on priority aspects of the mental health and suicide prevention system requiring evaluation. (f) Facilitate the sharing and publication of evaluation findings according to the guidelines agreed by HSOXXX. (g) Facilitate progress reporting for this Agreement [see Part 6 - Reporting] (h) Consider a role for the National Mental Health Commission in monitoring and enabling the evaluation activities in this Agreement. 103. Health Chief Executives and Mental Health CEOs will consider proposals put forward by the Parties for national evaluations of the mental health and suicide prevention system or programs of national significance and determine appropriate cost sharing mechanisms for any supported proposals.