The Australian Government has released the landmark Australian Cancer Plan, which aims to improve prevention, screening, treatment, and management of all cancers for all people in Australia regardless of their background or where they live.

The Plan has been developed by Cancer Australia, in consultation with the states and territories, First Nations communities, clinicians, researchers, people affected by cancer and support organisations. The Plan covers all cancer types, across the whole cancer journey, from prevention and early detection to treatment, recovery and end of life care.

A key priority of the Plan is improving outcomes for groups with the poorest cancer experiences, with a particular focus on First Nations people. Achieving equity for First Nations people is an urgent priority. First Nations people are 14% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer and 45% more likely to die from cancer than non-Indigenous people.

In launching the Plan, the government has announced two significant partnerships for the delivery of the 2 and 5-year goals of the Plan.

The government will work with Movember to integrate patient-reported experiences and outcomes into service performance monitoring and Cancer Council Australia to develop a national cancer data framework to improve the accessibility, consistency and comprehensiveness of cancer data.

Cancer Australia has also started working on several actions identified in the Plan. These include setting up an Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network and crafting national frameworks for Optimal Care Pathways and Genomics in Cancer Control.

According to Cancer Australia CEO, Professor Dorothy Keefe, “The Australian Cancer Plan will complement the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Plan recently launched by the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)".