Find cutting edge cancer clinical trials near you using the new Victorian Cancer Trials Link.

Search now

Diversity and Inclusion

While Victoria has some of the best cancer outcomes in the world, the burden of cancer is not evenly spread. People experiencing socio-economic disadvantage, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities, multicultural communities, people living with a disability, and those who live in regional and rural areas have poorer cancer outcomes.

The Victorian Cancer Registry (2022) shows:

  • Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Victorians are twice as likely to be diagnosed with cancer and three times more likely to die from cancer than other Victorians.
  • Regional Victorians are 47% more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma than Victorians living in major cities.

LGBTIQ+ Australians experience poorer cancer outcomes and evidence suggests that clinicians who treat this population, lack knowledge of their unique health issues.

People from multicultural communities face numerous challenges in cancer prevention, screening, and early diagnosis, as well as access to appropriate treatment. Some of the challenges are language barriers and lack of familiarity with the Australian health system.

The 2021 census data shows:

  • 41% of Victorians have both parents born overseas and 35% are themselves born overseas.
  • The most common language spoken at home, other than English, were Mandarin (3.4%), Vietnamese (1.8%), Greek (1.6%), Punjabi (1.6%), Italian (1.4%, and Arabic (1.4%).

The number of people with a disability in Victoria is increasing and is expected to continue to grow due to population growth, ageing, and increased life expectancy. The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (2022) report that people with a disability form 18.4% of the Victorian population.

Our Vision

Our vision is to reduce health disparities for all Victorians affected by cancer through the development of accessible programs and services that are responsive to and respectful of, our diverse communities. The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and understanding. It is a celebration of individual differences and recognition of the tailored and inclusive support needed to achieve equitable outcomes.  

Our Plan

Cancer Council Victoria’s Diversity and Inclusion Plan 2022 – 2023 sets out three outcome areas including:

  • Outcome 1: Equitable, accessible, and responsive information, services, and programs
  • Outcome 2: A workforce that reflects and supports our diverse and inclusive culture
  • Outcome 3: Measuring our impact

Our Work

New Accessibility Toolbar

The Cancer Council Victoria website now has an accessibility toolbar to help more Victorians get cancer information and support. The online inclusion toolkit assists those who experience online barriers due to a vision or hearing impairment, learning disability, or who use another language at home.

Located at the top right corner of the website, the toolkit has features such as audio downloads, plain text options, reading options and more.

Cancer Prevention

One third of cancers can be prevented. Simple lifestyle changes can help reduce your risk.

Quit

With smoking being the leading preventable cause of death and disease in Australia, the health promotion workforce has a key role in influencing and enabling communities to reduce tobacco-related harm. Quit Victoria is committed to supporting this workforce by providing a range of tools and resources to support them to act.

SunSmart

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Yet it can be almost entirely prevented with good sun protection. We have a large range of SunSmart resources in multiple languages for multicultural communities.

Cancer Screening and Early Detection

Finding cancer early offers the best chance of treating it. Some cancers have screening programs to find cancer early including bowel, breast, cervical, prostate and skin cancers.

We deliver public education campaigns to encourage screening and early detection and work with health professionals and community organisations to improve cancer screening participation in under-screen communities.

Visit the Cancer Screening Hub for a variety of educational tools and resources when working with:

Research

Victorian Cancer Registry

The Victorian Cancer Registry is a world leader in collecting and providing data to cancer clinicians, policy makers and researchers to help them provide equal care to all Victorians.

Victorian Cancer Trials Link

The Victorian Cancer Trials Link connects people affected by cancer and their clinicians with information about current cancer clinical trials in Victoria.

Cancer information and support services

We offer a range of programs and services to support all Victorians affected by cancer.

Multicultural communities

People living with a disability

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people

LGBTQI+ Communities

All Victorians affected by cancer including people diagnosed, family and carers can call our cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for information and support.

Our cancer nurses have undergone cultural safety training to ensure all people affected by cancer get the inclusive and sensitive support that they need.

To talk to our nurses in your own language call 13 14 50, say the language you need, and ask the interpreter to call 13 11 20.

Contact us

If you would like to give us any feedback or more information about cultural diversity at Cancer Council Victoria, or provide feedback on our website, please email  diversity@cancervic.org.au