About us

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 vision

A world free from preventable cancers and in which all people affected by cancer have equitable access to safe, effective and affordable cancer treatment and care.

Our mission

To promote the effective use of law for the prevention and control of cancer and other NCDs by building knowledge, expertise, capacity and networks at global, regional and domestic levels.

Download our Strategic Plan 2018-2022

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:

  • Empowerment
  • Building knowledge, inspiring action
  • Fostering collaboration

Read about what we do

Our history

The McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer was established in 2012 by Founding Director Jonathan Liberman 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.

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 legal experts based in Melbourne, Australia with Regional Managers in the Pacific, Africa and Asia, who are committed to advancing law to prevent cancer and other NCDs and protect people affected by them.

Read lawyer profiles

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.

Read full story

Media enquiries

Contact media@mccabecentre.org or call +61 3 9514 6404.