MeasuringSuccess

Progress is characterised by strong sector engagement and support for the Plan, increasing alignment of sector activities to the Plan’s priorities, and the establishment of enabling infrastructure to support longer-term system change and intended outcomes.

Activity is strongest in prevention and early detection, consumer experience, and system foundations, reflecting the Plan’s early emphasis on establishing frameworks and enabling infrastructure. Workforce and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander equity demonstrate important early progress but require further scaling and sustained effort.

This is strengthening alignment between jurisdictions and sectors, shaping policy priorities, and supporting collaboration. It is also influencing organisational strategies, funding bids, and planning processes, with alignment to the Plan increasingly seen as a marker of credibility and strategic relevance.

The Plan has moved equity — particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cancer outcomes — from a principle dependent on individual leadership to a shared system-wide priority. This shift is evident in policy, funding, workforce development and service planning, supported by Indigenous-led initiatives and partnerships.

A lag between system-level reform and improvements in frontline delivery and outcomes, is to be reasonably expected at this stage of a 10-year reform agenda, where system-level foundations typically precede measurable frontline change. This is an issue warranting attention as the Plan moves toward its 5-year mark, when service-level change and outcomes should become more evident.

A distributed implementation model has been established, based on shared responsibility across governments, the cancer sector, and implementation partners. Governance and coordination mechanisms — including 36+ Implementation Partnerships (as of June 2026), advisory structures and engagement processes — are supporting collaboration, although many are still maturing.

The Plan has established a strong and credible foundation for long-term reform. The next phase requires a deliberate shift toward implementation at scale, supported by stronger capability, clearer accountability and sustained investment, to ensure that early system-level progress delivers measurable improvements in cancer outcomes and experiences for all Australians.

While there is strong support for the Plan, stakeholders consistently identified limited funding, workforce pressures, data challenges and governance complexities as barriers to progress. A deliberate shift is needed from establishing broad strategic directions to prioritising and resourcing delivery on the ground, with clear measures of success.

There is an opportunity to sharpen implementation focus by prioritising high-impact actions and strengthening coordinated delivery across governments and implementation partners. Greater clarity of roles, responsibilities and accountability, supported by Cancer Australia’s ongoing leadership, would strengthen coordination across the cancer control sector.

Coordinated implementation has the potential to reduce duplication and fragmentation and address gaps in the system. This includes an ongoing emphasis on exploring how the Plan, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cancer Plan, and state and territory cancer plans complement one another as each mature and are delivered. In this context, monitoring and evaluation systems should continue to mature so future reporting can better assess reach, scale and impact across the full system.

While acknowledging the fundamental complexity of Australia’s federated system, there would be benefit in further engagement between the Commonwealth, state and territory governments, sector partners and the broader cancer control sector. Stakeholders also highlighted the importance of ongoing consumer engagement to increase visibility of the Plan and ensure lived experience continues to inform implementation and future evaluation.

Strengthening policy levers and accountability mechanisms could further embed the Plan’s priorities across the cancer control system and support consistent uptake of key activities.This needs to be supported by sustained investment in system capability to enable implementation at scale. This includes strengthening data infrastructure, workforce capacity and practical supports to translate national frameworks into consistent delivery across the system. In particular, continued support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leadership and key First Nations cancer measures is needed to sustain momentum and drive more equitable outcomes.

There are opportunities to build on and scale existing national frameworks, partnerships and initiatives. Continued implementation and integration of key frameworks and programs — including data, genomics, optimal care pathways and national networks — will be critical to translating early foundations into system-wide impact.