Nine grants totaling nearly $1 million have been awarded to projects with a strong focus on improving cancer awareness, screening, support and care tailored to priority communities across Australia.
As part of Cancer Australia’s Supporting People with Cancer grant program, projects will include culturally sensitive health promotion campaigns and capacity building for healthcare providers, and targeted resources for Aboriginal, rural, remote, LGBTIQA+ and culturally diverse populations.
Several of the projects emphasise co-design with communities to ensure relevance and accessibility, addressing cancers such as bowel, prostate, ovarian, anal cancer, and broader palliative care needs.
The Supporting People with Cancer grant program is a national, annual, competitive initiative that provides funding to community organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to support individuals affected by cancer.
Since its inception in 2005, 151 grants totalling $13 million have been funded through this program.
For more information, visit Cancer Australia’s website: Supporting People with Cancer grant program.
Quotes attributable to The Hon Rebecca White MP, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health and Assistant Minister for Women
“Cancer touches so many lives and does not discriminate. These projects will help more people access the screening and support they need – especially for those who often face worse outcomes.
“They’re focused on making a real difference for people in regional and remote areas, and for First Nations communities, where access to care can be harder.
“We know the power of these community-led projects, they will help so many more people affected by cancer.”
Quotes attributable to Cancer Australia CEO Professor Dorothy Keefe:
“We congratulate all the recipients of the 2025 Supporting People with Cancer grants. Your initiatives play a vital role in supporting priority populations such as remote and rural communities and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.
“These groups face significant disparities of cancer outcomes compared with the broader community. Tackling these inequalities and advancing health equity remains a key focus for us.
“Achieving equity in cancer outcomes is also a core objective of the Australian Cancer Plan, which aims to improve cancer outcomes for everyone.”
The funded projects are:
Aboriginal Health Council of Western Australia: “Increasing uptake of Bowel Cancer Screening”. This project will deliver a co-designed, community-informed health promotion campaign about bowel cancer screening, including a suite of resources tailored for Aboriginal communities and clinicians in Western Australia.
Derbarl Yerrigan Health Service Aboriginal Corporation (Western Australia): “Supporting People with Cancer Round 16_DYHS”. This project will provide social and emotional wellbeing support to Aboriginal people affected by cancer and build the capacity of the local workforce and community to provide cancer support.
Hope Horizons Inc (Queensland): “Integrated Cancer Support for Rural and Regional Queensland”. This project will support up to 500 people affected by cancer in regional and rural Queensland through a wellbeing program that integrates a dedicated Care Coordinator and the University of Southern Queensland Wellbeing Model.
Karadi Aboriginal Corporation (Tasmania): “Karadi Aboriginal Corporation Cancer Support Services”. This project will deliver a targeted public health campaign to increase awareness and access to screening services for Aboriginal people affected by cancer in Tasmania and provide training opportunities to build healthcare knowledge about culturally appropriate cancer screening.
Moorundi Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (South Australia): “The HEAL Project – Improving Health Equity, Empowerment, Awareness, and Leadership to support those impacted by Prostate cancer among First Nations communities”. This project will develop, implement, and evaluate a co-designed, culturally safe toolkit for First Nations men and their partners affected by prostate cancer in the Moorundi catchment area.
Ovarian Cancer Australia: “Access to Cancer-Related Fatigue Support for Rural and Remote Australians with Ovarian Cancer”. This project will provide free, telehealth-delivered cognitive brain therapy for cancer-related fatigue in people with ovarian cancer living in rural and remote Australia.
Punya Foundation: “Engaging and Empowering the Emerging Nepali Speaking Bhutanese and Nepali Migrants through Community Consultative Service for Better Cancer Outcomes”. This project will develop co-designed, community-informed resources about cancer screening and access to cancer care services. It also delivers community education sessions across Australia for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Strong Spirit Services Ltd (NSW): “Changing the Narrative: Palliative Care”. This project will deliver a co-designed Community Awareness Campaign about palliative care and cancer for Aboriginal communities in the Port Macquarie Hastings and Kempsey Macleay regions.
Thorne Harbour Health (South Australia): “Get tested, stay informed: A campaign to promote anal cancer awareness in populations”. This project will deliver a co-designed, community-informed health promotion campaign about anal cancer including a suite of resources tailored for priority populations and build health practitioner capacity.
