The public needs to know about your trial. A key responsibility for everyone undertaking a clinical trial is to make their trial known publicly, so that people in the future know that your question has been asked, and they can learn from your results.

Every clinical trial is required to be registered in a clinical trials registry such as the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) or www.clinicaltrials.gov. The registry records details such as a trial’s objectives, main design features, sample size and recruitment status, treatments under investigation, outcomes to be assessed.

In order to fulfil the prospective registration requirement, i.e. to obtain a registration number (ACTRN) prior to enrolment of the first participant, the ANZCTR recommend that the registration process is commenced at least three weeks prior to the anticipated recruitment start date.