Australia’s capacity to grow its clinical trials sector depends on one critical factor: a skilled, confident, and well-supported workforce. Without trained people in the right places, trials cannot start, cannot expand, and cannot reach the communities that need them most.
The PROgress Program, delivered nationally by PRAXIS Australia for the Australian Teletrial Program (ATP), is meeting this challenge head-on. It provides a scalable, practical, and highly supported pathway for building clinical trial capability across diverse regional, rural, remote, and metropolitan Australia, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.
PROgress is a three-month program that delivers an immersive experience built on best-practice, competency-based clinical trials training, expert-led workshops, and on-site application of learnings within a supportive mentoring structure and a goal-achievement framework. This ensures participants gain valuable and professionally relevant knowledge that they can confidently apply in clinical settings. A defining strength of the program is its integrated mentoring and community of practice structure that surrounds every participant with real-time support, expert guidance, and a national professional network.
Integrated On-site, Live, and Online Learning with Structured Support
The mentoring structure is strengthened through both live communities of practice and platform-enabled collaboration spaces, where resources, discussions, and solutions flow across the cohort. These networks continue long after the program is finished. Participants also work with their mentors to set valuable stretch goals and use the program’s structured goal achievement framework to ensure they achieve these. An important part of the program is the end-of-program formal presentations where participants share their learnings and goals they achieved with the broader group.
Importantly, learning does not stop with individual participants. The shared insights, tools, and practices gained through mentoring and community of practice sessions cascade through entire teams and sites, lifting capability well beyond the immediate cohort.
PROgress uses a three-way mentoring model that accelerates learning and builds confidence. Each participant is supported by an on-site mentor for day-to-day guidance, national peer-support mentoring that connects participants and mentors across Australia, and a PRAXIS anchor mentor who provides specialist advice and ensures consistent training and development. The mentoring and community networks create a powerful ripple effect, with shared learning cascading through teams, units, and health services, lifting capability beyond the individual participant.
Participant Stories: Real Impact, Real Workforce Gains
The stories shared by Amanda, Julie, and Iris “Tiki” Baker-Pearson provide a snapshot of how PROgress builds capability in clinical trial coordination, leadership, and operational excellence, particularly in regional and rural settings.
Amanda McGrath – Toowoomba, QLD: Building Research Leadership for Renal Patients
Before PROgress, Amanda McGrath knew that research could transform care for renal patients at Toowoomba Base Hospital. Still, she lacked the structured training and support to embed research into her unit. “I was determined to integrate research into our renal unit, but without formal training or protected research time, it was challenging.”
Through PROgress, Amanda benefited from all three mentoring layers. Her site mentor provided practical guidance; the peer-mentoring group offered reassurance and shared learning, and the PRAXIS anchor mentor helped her deepen her critical thinking and understanding of trial management. Her mentor reflected this: “I’ve seen Amanda develop stronger critical thinking, confidence, and depth of knowledge throughout the program.”
PROgress also strengthened Amanda’s belief that research should be accessible and equitable for everyone. She was able to work on the SWIFT trial, which included 12 Indigenous participants, she saw firsthand how consent and education process should be approached differently. The program equipped her with the skills to explain trials in clean, patient-centered ways, to be mindful of cultural differences, and to ensure every participant feels comfortable, respected and fully informed.
The impact was immediate. During the program, Amanda closed two trials and initiated two new ones, she has also started a six-month secondment in the oncology department’s research unit, further strengthening her expertise and broadening the hospital’s research capacity. She is now advocating for a local mentoring structure within her renal unit, helping capability ripple through the team and the community. The program has helped to foster important partnerships that support the unique needs of people living in regional, rural and remote areas.
Julie Sagnol – Warrnambool, VIC: Confidence, Clarity and the Power of Community
When Julie Sagnol stepped into her role with the Australian Teletrial Program, she brought with her nursing experience, a degree in animal science, and prior research exposure but clinical trials were a new frontier.
Julie joined PROgress seeking clarity and confidence in her dual Research Nurse and Project Officer role. The program gave her best-practice training in all aspects of trial design and delivery while strengthening her communication and leadership skills: “The Program taught me so much about myself, my strengths, blind spots, and how to better support others. I’m much more confident leading conversations now.”
As Julie’s confidence grew, so did her ability to work meaningfully with local communities. Julie shared that “The program facilitated more clarity in my interactions with our local First Nations groups. I have a better understanding of what is important to our First Nations local community and what may interest them about Clinical Trials while facilitating their confidence in Research.” The awareness now informs how she approaches engagement, listening first, understanding context, and ensuring that research conversations are built on respect, relevance, and trust.
Julie’s mentor saw this growth firsthand, describing her as someone who adapts quickly, takes challenges in her stride, and seeks clarity instead of pushing through uncertainty. Julie’s goals extend beyond her own career; she wants communities and healthcare teams to understand the value of clinical trials and the opportunities to participate: “I’m passionate about bringing those benefits to regional communities.”
Julie is committed to using the skills and confidence gained through PROgress to help grow a sustainable regional research culture: “This program changed how I see myself. I’m no longer second-guessing, I’m excited to help build a strong, capable team.”
Iris “Tiki” Baker-Pearson – Townsville, QLD: From Overwhelmed to a Confident Leader
Before PROgress, Tiki Baker-Pearson was coordinating five cardiology and cardiothoracic trials with limited formal training, describing the experience as “You’re a snorkel guide… and overnight you’re told you’re now a deep-sea diver. Completely different job, completely different rules.”
Tiki saw PROgress as a lifeline to build capability, confidence, and stronger trial delivery for regional and remote communities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The structured learning and support were transformative. “Having a group of people going through the same challenges was invaluable… my mentor was incredible: supportive and honest.” Training clarified monitoring, auditing, start-up, and investigator responsibilities, helping her resolve major issues and work with confidence. Importantly, PROgress continued to equip Tiki with her ability to have meaningful conversations with regional and First Nations communities about research. Allowing her to approach discussions with empathy, cultural awareness, and kindness, with a deeper understanding of trial processes, she can explain research in ways that empower people, open doors to participation, and build trust in communities.
Even after her employment ended mid-program, Tiki completed PROgress in her own time because of its value. Now in a leadership role, she mentors new coordinators and strengthens trial quality statewide. “This course gave me the foundation to ensure trials are run safely and ethically. I’m committed to staying in regional Queensland; research belongs everywhere, not just in big cities.”
A Proven National Workforce Model: Advancing Regional, Rural and Remote Communities
The PROgress Program is built on a low-cost, scalable workforce model that combines competency-based clinical trials training, supervised site placements, immersive on-site instruction, and a three-way mentoring structure. This is reinforced by live and online communities of practice and ongoing national peer support. Together, these elements provide immediate workforce relief to host sites while equipping participants with the skills and confidence to deliver high-quality clinical trials independently.
The program draws on PRAXIS Australia’s extensive experience delivering national workforce initiatives for MTP-Connect, DISR and Omico’s PrOSPeCT program, and the Australian Teletrial Program. More than 150 clinical trial staff from diverse backgrounds have been trained through these programs, including around 75 PROgress participants and their mentors, demonstrating the strength and transferability of the model.
Evaluation results show a significant and consistent impact. Ninety percent of participants secure employment post-placement, and mentors universally report improved employability. Participants and mentors alike describe strong positive career and sector benefits, with one quarter of participants promoted and another quarter transitioning into new roles. Half of all participants report substantial increases in knowledge and confidence. Mentoring and communities of practice are repeatedly identified as core drivers of these outcomes, building confidence, capability, and shared learning that strengthens entire teams and trial sites.
Delivering National Benefits with a Regional Research Workforce
The stories of Amanda, Julie, and Tiki show the broader national impact of PROgress, which is building a connected, confident, and capable workforce essential for meeting Australia’s clinical trial growth goals in the decade ahead. Participants are already driving faster study start-up and close-out, stronger leadership and communication, improved ethics and governance, better data quality and compliance, enhanced site readiness across regional and metropolitan services, and enhanced capability and confidence that spreads throughout entire teams, supporting more equitable access to trials for all communities.
The combination of competency-based training, expert-led learning, structured mentoring and goal-achievement, and active communities of practice ensures capability is both strengthened and sustained across the program. PRAXIS CEO Sally Armstrong sums it up: “PROgress delivers real skills, confidence, and workforce impact in a supported structure. It offers a practical solution to Australia’s clinical trials workforce gap in real time.” The ATP PROgress partnership is a great example of this.
Participant feedback and program outcomes attest to the power of this initiative. PROgress is a program that can be adapted to diverse populations and needs across states and across the country and will help to achieve the sector’s growth goals in the decade ahead. With continued support, the program can help to ensure Australia remains a world-class clinical trial destination, regardless of where trials are conducted.