Our research and advocacy for action on vaping
Our Generation Vape* research and advocacy efforts contributed to the Australian Government implementing new policies that will directly tackle young people’s easy access to vaping products.
Annual Report 2023-2024
Cancer Council NSW acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and work. We pay respect to the Elders and extend that respect to all other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Professor Sarah Hocking
Cancer Council NSW CEO
Michael Morgan
Cancer Council NSW Chair of the Board
It is a real pleasure for us to look back at the extraordinary progress we have made this past year.
Tackling cancer is no easy feat and we want to start by thanking everyone in the Cancer Council NSW community, including our outstanding supporters, volunteers, and employees.
We would like to especially thank our philanthropic and corporate partners, people who have made the generous decision to leave a gift in their will and our regular givers who continuously contribute to reducing the impact of cancer for all Australians and ultimately, saving lives.
It has been an honour to stand by all of you again this year, as we began work against our new ambitious five-year strategy, that will deliver against our core purpose “to change the path of cancer and make sure no one walks alone”.
In November 2023, the federal government announced $166m funding to establish a new Australian Cancer Nursing and Navigation Program – the ACNNP. As part of the Program, the Cancer Council Federation has been funded ($49.6m) to deliver The National Cancer Navigation Service. In delivering this service, Cancer Council will build on the strength of our existing, highly respected, 13 11 20 service, enhancing and expanding this to offer national, multi-modal information and support, while growing its reach, especially to focus populations.
Together, we have worked consistently to address public health issues facing our communities, such as the uptake of vaping among young people. We started off the year with new measures to tackle vaping introduced from 1 January 2024. Cancer Council NSW and our team leading the Generation Vape research project played a phenomenal role in contributing to these reforms. We look forward to seeing this continue into the future as policy measures are further strengthened and implemented.
We also worked closely with community to address inequities in access to cancer care. This was the case in the Riverina region around Wagga Wagga, where we successfully secured bulk billing for cancer treatment to bring it in line with other regional centres, with our Advocacy Team and CanAct community working to amass over 12,000 petition signatures. Thanks to advances in research, prevention, detection and treatment, more people than ever are surviving cancer. As part of our commitment to improve the lives of cancer survivors, I am absolutely thrilled to share that, this year, we formed a $40m 10-year partnership with UNSW to launch The Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship. We cannot wait to see what we can achieve together.
We would also like to recognise and thank Professor Karen Canfell AC FAHMS for her contributions to Cancer Council NSW and public health more broadly. For the past several years, Karen led our research and, this year, she was deservedly awarded the highest honour of Companion of the Order of Australia for her commitment and service to medicine.
We know that our work is not done yet. Over 1.52 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in NSW over the next 25 years, and it is the people affected by cancer and their families that push us to make every year better than the last.
From all of us at Cancer Council NSW, thank you. Together, we are tackling cancer and leading NSW towards a cancer free future.
86%
of primary schools participated in our SunSmart program
3,000
people accessed Tackling Tobacco resources
214
golf clubs participated in our Improve Your Long Game program
239,349
people visited our Healthy Made Tasty website
In April 2024, the Daffodil Centre celebrated three years since its establishment.
Over that period, the centre has published evidence with potential to significantly reduce cancer death rates and further improve five-year survival rates from an all-time high of 70%.
This includes analyses pivotal to:
Additionally, the Australian Government announced a $12.5 million grant in November 2023, to a multi-institution consortium led by the Daffodil Centre to develop cervical screening and HPV vaccination across the Indo-Pacific region. This project will build on work we are doing in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, thanks to funding from Minderoo Foundation.
In February 2024, the Daffodil Centre also published the most comprehensive projections of all-cause premature mortality in Australia, showing that cancer will be the leading cause of healthy life lost by an increasing margin, providing evidence on how to prioritise our research and partnership opportunities to maximise impact in saving and extending lives.
$17.6m
our investment into world-class research in 2023/24
In 2023/24, our competitive national extramural grants program supported 51 active projects involving 198 researchers across 21 institutions
In May 2024, the UNSW Vice-Chancellor and President Professor Attila Brungs and our CEO Professor Sarah Hosking announced the Australian Research Centre for Cancer Survivorship (ARCCS), a new $40m partnership between UNSW and Cancer Council NSW.
The ARCCS will co-design, evaluate and implement evidence-based interventions to improve the quality of life of people who have survived cancer.
9,017
times our 13 11 20 information and support team were contacted by people affected by cancer, health professionals, and the general public
201,840
times our Understanding Cancer resources were distributed
47,592
listens to our cancer support and information podcasts
14,386
trips by our Transport to Treatment service
When we heard that people in the Riverina had to pay an additional charge for cancer treatment, that people in other regional towns were not asked to pay, we knew we had to act.
We successfully secured bulk billing for cancer treatment in the Riverina region with our Advocacy Team and CanAct community working to amass over 12,000 petition signatures. This change will save Riverina cancer patients hundreds of dollars in out-of-pocket medical costs, enabling more individuals to receive timely and affordable cancer treatment closer to home and improving their quality of life.
1,116
people who sought legal, financial and workplace advice across NSW through our Pro Bono Program
$1,198,659
worth of financial assistance payments to people affected by cancer
90%
of the 481 psychological counselling clients this year reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the service
98%
of the 497 cancer patients who accessed our Home Help services this year reported being satisfied
We would like to recognise the 107 exceptional individuals, who left a gift in their will to Cancer Council NSW in 2023/24. Together, they donated $26,733,000 this year. There is no greater legacy than a gift towards a cancer free future for generations to come. We are incredibly grateful for this support.
People just like Audrey Jean Davies, known to everyone as ‘Jean’, who passed away two weeks short of her 99th birthday. In her will, Jean left a contribution to Cancer Council, as she wanted to contribute towards research into new ways to treat and prevent cancer.
We would also like to thank our amazing philanthropic and corporate partners for their incredible support this year, helping us maximise the impact of our researchers, prevention and support programs and advocacy efforts.
Learn more about our partners