The Australian Cancer Plan – What Is It And Who Is Responsible For Its Implementation?

Day one of our series on the Australian Cancer Plan and today we are focusing on what it is and who is responsible for its implementation.

The Australian Cancer Plan is a national framework, published by the Australian Government’s lead cancer control agency, Cancer Australia. The Australian Government has committed to taking action for delivery of the plan, however overall the plan has been described as a ’shared responsibility’ for the whole Australian cancer community, state and territory governments and other stakeholders.

At its core, the Australian Cancer Plan is “designed to improve cancer outcomes for all Australians, and particularly for those groups whose health outcomes are poorest”. The landmark plan has been informed by a rigorous process of stakeholder engagement.

The plan outlines six overarching strategic objectives, each containing a future-focused 10-year-ambition, underpinned by two- and five-year goals, together with a set of comprehensive actions that will achieve these goals.

The plan acknowledges there are disparities in cancer outcomes between defined groups of the Australian population and has identified 10 key priority population groups that need to be addressed to achieve equity.

The last section of the Australian Cancer Plan is Optimal Care Pathways (OCPs) which outline best care recommendations across seven steps in the cancer continuum.

The comprehensive plan has around 60 listed action steps, each with their own sub-information and implementation considerations, which is why we’ve created this series – to explore directly what the plan means for children, adolescents and young people with cancer.