New national roadmap charts a course for children and young people with cancer
Australia's first Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Roadmap sets out a clear plan to improve care, survivorship and research for children and young people with cancer. Children's Cancer CoLab says the time for this Roadmap has never been more urgent.
Surviving childhood or adolescent cancer is just the beginning. Around 20,000 Australians are living with its lifelong consequences, a number expected to grow by up to 20% over the next decade, and nearly 80% will face at least one long-term health problem, with mortality rates remaining up to 10 times higher than their peers for decades to come.
Cancer Australia and the Commonwealth Government have released the Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult (CAYA) Cancer Roadmap to address this reality. The Roadmap will be presented at the CoLab Forum on 28 May 2026 by Cancer Australia Deputy CEO, Claire Howlett.
Shaped by extensive sector consultation and aligned with the Australian Cancer Plan, the Roadmap aims to deliver world-class outcomes for children, adolescents and young adults through three pillars:
1. Enhancing supportive care
2. Enabling access to emerging technologies
3. Targeting investment in research and clinical trials.
The Roadmap recognises what families already know - that a cancer diagnosis in childhood is not just a medical event. It reshapes education, employment, relationships and family life in ways that can last a lifetime. Children and young people need therapies, care models and long-term support that are built for them, not adapted from systems designed for adults.
Children's Cancer CoLab’s CEO, Dr Udani Reets, said CoLab is committed to working alongside Cancer Australia, governments, clinicians, researchers and lived-experience communities to turn the Roadmap's ambitions into action.
“Children's Cancer CoLab was established to bring governments, clinicians, researchers, philanthropy and lived-experience leaders around one table. With this Roadmap in place, we now have a real opportunity to use CoLab's independent, collaborative platform to help turn fragmented projects into a cohesive national effort that delivers for every child and young person with cancer.”
Children’s Cancer CoLab Board Chair, Professor Brendan Murphy AC, said the Roadmap sends a clear signal that childhood and adolescent cancer survivorship is not an afterthought.
“The Roadmap is central to what every child and young person who goes through cancer deserves. It gives us the national framework to ensure that investment in CAYA research and care reaches every child, regardless of where they live.”
Children's Cancer CoLab is well placed to support the delivery of the Roadmap. As a purpose-built, independent non-profit with robust funding processes, embedded lived-experience input, and a national and international Scientific Advisory Committee, CoLab has the structures in place to coordinate action across government, philanthropy and research sectors.
CoLab funds collaborative childhood and adolescent cancer research projects across Australia and is committed to working with the Australian Government and philanthropy to make the Roadmap's vision a reality for every child with cancer.
View Childhood and Adolescent Cancer survivorship facts and figures.
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