Research Priority Setting Is Not Research: A Call for Ethical Clarity in Australia

In Australia, research priority setting (RPS) may be misclassified as research requiring ethics approval, despite its purpose as a collaborative, pre-research involvement activity. Treating RPS as research creates delays, diverts resources and undermines partnership principles central to inclusive, community-centred priority setting. Recent revisions to the National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research clarify that pre-research consultation does not require ethics review, creating an opportunity for consistent national practice. We call for institutions to recognise RPS as involvement and provide proportionate, non-ethics oversight to accelerate RPS and deliver more responsive research agendas that reduce waste.