Highlights for 2025
2025 – what a big year! As we look back on an extraordinary 12 months, I want to extend our deepest thanks to our key partners and collaborators, for our collective achievements and defining moments this year. Global health is facing a challenging period, yet the progress we’ve seen is a testament to the strength of our partnerships and the commitment of everyone involved.
At the heart of everything we do is the personal impact of cancer and chronic disease — that touches each and every one of us in different ways and drives our determination to keep moving forward.
Thank you to Cancer Council Victoria, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and Cancer Council Australia, we are so grateful for your steadfast support, which has been vital in driving forward our shared mission in cancer control.
We also extend our sincere appreciation to the State and Federal Governments, whose continued support has been instrumental in enabling our work and impact across the region and beyond.
To our dedicated team across Melbourne, Apia, Manila, and Nairobi – and to our growing number of Alumni across the globe – thank you! Your hard work and expertise is the reason we achieve such significant impact.
Law is a powerful instrument in cancer control, and we’ve achieved systemic change with remarkable outcomes. See our published report and the evaluated impact of our international legal training program here, and read about some highlights of an incredible year in this newsletter.
But we know there's so much more to be done. We need financial partners to help us achieve our goals and amplify our success across expanded areas. With our newly launched five-year Strategic Plan, we look forward to exploring further opportunities to collaborate in 2026 and beyond.
As this year draws to a close, wherever you are in the world, I wish you a joyful and safe holiday season. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey.
Hayley Jones
Director
Law is a powerful tool in cancer control. That's why we exist.
2025 Training Courses:
We ran our International Legal Training Program:
- 116 participants completed the course
- Completion rates were 75% of active users.
We joined with UICC and the Lancet to deliver a Master course on Women, Power and Cancer to:
- 133 professionals from 45 countries, with 65% rating it 5/5.
And we contributed to five workshops run by WHO and other partners.
Our contribution to Global Convenings 2025
- UN High Level Meeting on NCDs and Mental Health – contribution to the political declaration & participation at the Summit and side events, New York.
- NCD Alliance Global Forum, Kigali.
- WHO Collaborating Centres, Fifth Regional Meeting, Manila.
- WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control COP11 in Geneva.
- 2nd WHO Global Air Pollution Conference, Columbia.
- WHO ACE regional roundtable on food systems, health and climate –South Korea.
- International Network of Health Promotion Foundations Annual Meeting & Symposium, Singapore.
UICC, Cancer Council Victoria & McCabe Centre organised Global Convenings
- Parliament House, Canberra - Australia’s role in Global NCD action presented by The George Institute and McCabe Centre.
- World Cancer Leaders’ Summit (WCLS) UICC organisers, Cancer Council Victoria hosts, and McCabe Centre co-hosted (along with VCCC Alliance, and Monash Consortium).
- Law in Action – The Hon. Nicola Roxon WCLS side event, organised by McCabe Centre, supported by Cancer Council Victoria and UICC.
- Advancing progress on health and chronic conditions in a polycrisis, WCLS side event - organised by the McCabe Centre, Cancer Council Victoria, Australian Network of WHO Collaborating Centres, Australian Global Health Alliance, The George Institute for Global Health and University of Melbourne.
- Hosted Selangor State Government of Malaysia and Ministry of Health Kiribati.
Our Published Articles in 2025
- Impact of our International Legal Training Program, published by Oxford University Press here
- Putting Human Rights at the heart of cancer prevention article.
- Cancer Control 2025 "What can tobacco control teach us about vested interests in food and nutrition?" article.
- 10 years of the WHO FCTC Knowledge Hub on Legal Challenges, BMJ Journals here.
- The Legal Nature of WHO Regulations, Elgar online here
Publications we contributed to
- ABC Global Decade Report here
- The Cancer Atlas, Fourth Edition - we proudly contributed to this global collaboration led by the American Cancer Society, and IARC - International Agency for Research on Cancer / WHO here.
New Policy Brief
We launched the Law & Alcohol Policy brief, Western Pacific Region - see here.
New Research
This year, we surveyed Victorians affected by cancer on their legal and financial challenges (100+ who experienced cancer, and a further 100+ carers), and look forward to presenting findings and recommendations next year. More here.
Knowledge Exchange - Webinars and Conferences
We also organised 10 webinars and presented at a further 10 conferences.
2025 submissions:
We contributed to 13 submissions at state, federal and international levels advocating for laws and policies that reduce the impact of cancer and save lives.
Our key Partners and Collaborations
As a joint initiative of Cancer Council Victoria, the Union for International Cancer Control, and Cancer Council Australia, the foundation of our work is strong partnerships.
This year we are both grateful and proud to have developed and strengthened collaborations with local and international partners on joint events, research, publications and other exchanges including:
- World Health Organization
- Convention Secretariat for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control
- NCD Alliance
- The Lancet Commission on Women, Power and Cancer
- ABC Global Alliance
- The George Institute for Global Health
- UNICEF
- World Cancer Research Fund
- Melbourne, Monash and Deakin Universities
- Global Health Advocacy Incubator
- Norwegian Cancer Society
- International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and
the African Cancer Registries Network
- William Rudder Trust
- Victorian Legal Services Board Grants Program
- Australian Government, Department of Health, Disability, and Ageing
- Australian Government, Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade
We are looking to expand our funding support base, please reach out if you are interested to support the work of McCabe Centre further E: Hayley.Jones@mccabecentre.org.
Our People:
This year, following 16 years of dedicated service, we farewelled Sondra Davoren, who has now taken up a new role as Senior Legal Counsel at Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora. See more here.
Our interns:
We were so grateful to have an excellent Intern from the Melbourne Law School again this year. See Jeremy Hand's reflections here.
Our Alumni:
We're so grateful to our Alumni, now over 680+ and their continued impact across their communities.
Key dates for 2026:
- February 4 - World Cancer Day - see here.
- April 20-24 – World Indigenous Cancer Conference, New Zealand – see here.
- April 27-30 – Women Deliver 2026 Conference, Melbourne - see here.
- June 25-27 – Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) Annual Meeting, Melbourne - see here.
- May 18-23 - World Health Assembly - see here.
- May 31 - World No Tobacco Day - see here.
- September 24-26 - World Cancer Congress, Hong Kong - see here.
Looking forward to another incredible year in 2026!
Change the law and you change millions of lives
