The Australian Government is fully committed to delivering the Western Australia Comprehensive Cancer Centre, to provide world class care and better health outcomes for people with cancer.
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in Australia, and in Western Australia three in every ten deaths occurs as a result of cancer.
The new centre will improve patient survival rates, enhance quality of life, and help reduce the necessity to travel long distance for treatment.
Establishing the centre will create around 500 new jobs during the construction phase.
The facility will also be key to developing a world leading Centre of Excellence for research, clinical teaching and training in Western Australia in the future, which will contribute to better care across the country.
It’s estimated that 65 percent of the people utilising the Western Australian Comprehensive Cancer Centre will be public patients.
While funding for the centre will not appear as a specific new measure in the 2022- 23 October Budget, the funding is included in Department of Health and Aged Care administered expenditure and will be delivered to this project.
The Prime Minister said:
“My Government is committed to the Western Australia Comprehensive Cancer Centre and we’ll work with the State Government to deliver on this project.
“No one should have to choose between accessing world class cancer care and staying close to home, family and friends.
“This facility will provide excellent care for patients, while also develop a world leading Centre of Excellence for research and training in Western Australia.”
Health Minister Mark Butler said:
“For too long people living with cancer in Western Australia have had to settle for fewer services because of the distance to major centres in the east, it is an unfair situation they have endured for too long.
“The Western Australia Comprehensive Cancer Centre will be a research driven care hub, and patients can expect the very best care from highly qualified staff, and outreach services to rural and remote communities, as well as vulnerable groups.”