Advocacy

We work with the community to change laws and policies to reduce cancer risks and improve cancer care.

As Australia's largest independent, non-government cancer control organisation, we seek to have our evidence-based policy recommendations translated into practice through our representations to government.

Cancer Council Australia produces a range of evidence-based cancer control policy resources, published here according to four categories: prevention, early detection, clinical practice (treatment) and supportive care. Information is also cross-referenced according to major cancer types.

Types of policy

Our key policy resources are: the National Cancer Prevention Policy, which includes early detection; individual position statements; submissions to government (including federal election priorities and pre-budget submissions to Treasury); and conference reports.

The National Cancer Prevention Policy is our flagship publication and covers preventable cancer risk factors and screening for the early detection of asymptomatic cancers and precancerous conditions. Most position statements are linked to the NCPP.

The majority of our resources are focused on prevention and early detection, as these are largely the responsibility of the federal government in Australia; Cancer Council Australia seeks to lead the independent cancer control policy agenda at the federal/national level.

How policy is developed

Policy is drafted and comprehensively referenced by our expert cancer control advisory committees, internally reviewed by the principal Public Health Committee or the Supportive Care Committee and peer-reviewed by independent external experts.

The Public Health Committee's terms of reference cover both primary prevention (minimising preventable risk factors) and screening. Input on clinical practice is provided by our affiliate the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia, the peak body for cancer clinicians.

Cancer Council Australia has developed a web-based wiki platform for developing, revising and publishing up-to-date policy documents. The wiki platform allows Cancer Council Australia to continuously update policy as new evidence becomes available or if the policy environment changes. The National Cancer Prevention Policy is available on the wiki platform, along with a number of position statements. All Cancer Council Australia policy documents will be transitioning to the wiki platform in the near future.

Cancer Council Australia's position on non-health public policy issues

Cancer Council as a federation has no public position on matters of economic and financial public policy, other than an ongoing position calling for greater public investment in cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, care and research.

Public comments from Cancer Council Queensland (a sovereign member of the Cancer Council federation) in response to a parliamentary inquiry into franking credits related to the concerns of individual donors and were intended to represent the views of those donors and supporters, not the views of the organisation.

Cancer Council as an organisation only takes a strong, independent position on matters of public policy that relate to cancer.

Cancer Council Australia will soon release a set of evidence-based public policy priorities for the next Australian Government, which focus entirely on cancer issues.

Cancer Council Australia expects to work constructively with the next Australian Government, irrespective of which party or parties take office following the 2019 federal election. The federal Opposition has demonstrated a strong commitment to invest in public health, including cancer control, should it form government.