An end-user is an individual, business, community or community organisation, government or government organisation, or non-government organisation.

An end-user is not another higher education provider or an organisation that is an affiliate, controlled entity or subsidiary (such as a Medical Research Institute) of a higher education provider. Anyone employed by these types of organisations, even if only on a part-time or honorary basis, is not eligible to be an Associate Supervisor (End-user) and would instead need to be considered for inclusion on an HDR candidate’s supervisory panel in the category of 'Associate Supervisor'.

Associate Supervisor (End-user) examples:

• A person with lived experience.
• A member of the leadership team of a primary or secondary school, e.g., a principal.
• A health practitioner, e.g., a dietician, nurse or physiotherapist.
• A specialist from an advocacy or charitable organisation, e.g., a policy manager.
• A specialist from a government or government organisation, e.g., the head of a regulatory body.
• A specialist from a business, e.g., an accountant or lawyer.

An Associate Supervisor (End-user) is not required to hold academic qualifications; however, they should possess expertise in the HDR candidate’s research area.

No, the role is voluntary. An institutional commitment to reciprocity underpins it; that is, the end-user, ACU and the HDR candidate all realise benefits from the association.

The Principal Supervisor recommends the appointment of an Associate Supervisor (End-user) in consultation with the Co-supervisor and HDR candidate for approval by the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research. An appointment can take place at any time during the HDR candidate’s candidature; however, an advantage of including an Associate Supervisor (End-user) on admission is that the end-user can inform the research question, thereby ensuring the relevance of the research to industry.