The McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer is the only centre of its kind in the world advancing law to prevent cancer and to protect people affected by it.
Through world-leading research and training programs, we empower individuals, organisations and governments to use law as an effective tool to prevent cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and to advance equitable health care for all people.
Our mission statement
Changing the law changes millions of lives – by preventing cancer, empowering people, and saving lives. As the only centre of its kind in the world, we exist to unlock the potential of using the law to drive real and lasting change – empowering governments to create change for people with cancer, their families, and communities worldwide.
Download our Strategic Plan 2025-2030
What we do
We work with partners at all levels in Australia and across the world to advance law to fight cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) through:
- Advancing Law in Cancer Control
- Strengthening Public Health Laws, Policies and Research
- Collaborating to increase Knowledge and Impact
Read about what we do
Our history
The McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer was established in 2012 as a joint initiative of Cancer Council Victoria, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), and Cancer Council Australia. It officially launched on 4 February, World Cancer Day. Based in Melbourne, Australia, we have Regional Managers in the Pacific, Asia, and Africa, expanding our global reach. We play a key role in strengthening public health laws worldwide, as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Law & Noncommunicable Disease and the designated WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Knowledge Hub on legal challenges.
Read our 10-year Impact Report: A decade of people and progress
Our governance
The McCabe Centre forms part of the Strategy & Support Division of Cancer Council Victoria. Our work is guided by a Joint Oversight Committee composed of CEOs, board members, and other leaders from Cancer Council Victoria, UICC, and Cancer Council Australia.
Read about our governance
Our legal staff
We have a team of primarily legal experts based in Melbourne, Australia with Regional Managers in the Pacific, Africa and Asia Read profiles here
Our partners
In addition to founding partners Cancer Council Victoria; UICC, and Cancer Council Australia, we work with a global network of collaborators.
We are the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Law & Noncommunicable Disease, and the Knowledge Hub for legal challenges to implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC).
Our Training Programs are primarily supported by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Department of Health.
We also work in close collaboration with the University of Melbourne, pursuing opportunities in research, teaching, and training.
Our heritage: Rolah McCabe
The McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer is named after Rolah McCabe, an Australian woman who brought a personal injury claim against British American Tobacco in the Supreme Court of Victoria in the early 2000s. Rolah had started smoking in the early 1960s at the age of 12. Her case garnered international attention by exposing British American Tobacco’s systematic destruction of thousands of documents relevant to her case and cases for others like her. Rolah died of lung cancer, aged 51, before her case settled. Following the settlement, Rolah’s family and lawyers contributed funds to establish the McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer.
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Media enquiries
Contact media@mccabecentre.org.