Problem
People living in regional Australia have lower rates of five-year survival for all cancers combined, compared with people living in major cities. The Improving Rural Cancer Outcomes (IRCO) project explored reasons for worse cancer outcomes in regional people in Western Australia and identified factors contributing to longer symptom appraisal and delayed help-seeking behaviour, as well as bottlenecks along the diagnostic pathway. The IRCO project also used a 2x2 factorial cluster randomised controlled trial to find a strategy that could reduce time to cancer diagnoses. IRCO results showed changing help seeking behaviour was possible through a symptom awareness campaign.

What you did
Armed with these results, in the lead up to the 2017 WA state election, a case was made for a new investment into a public education campaign to promote symptom awareness and early diagnosis. We met with decision makers, election asks in hand, and used social media, public relations and media opportunities to garner community support for funding.

Results
In 2017, the incoming WA government honoured their election commitment to fund the Find Cancer Early campaign. In 2024 that commitment continues beyond the current term of government with a new five-year agreement now in place to 2029. In total, over 12 years of funding has been committed. Find Cancer Early is also embedded as a recommendation of the WA Cancer Plan 2020-2025.

Lessons
Poorer cancer survival in regional Australia had been known for many years. A local randomised controlled trial that showed an effective solution was possible led to success in advocating for investment. It is hoped symptom awareness will remain in future WA Cancer Plans to ensure funding is protected beyond terms of government and election cycles. While it seems the Find Cancer Early campaign funding has endured, funding levels remain the same as 2017. In an environment of ever-increasing costs, the advocacy hasn’t finished.

Introduction
Youth and future generations will live to experience the worsening outcomes of the climate crisis driven by the fossil fuel industry, who uses various strategies to obfuscate their harms and influence decision-making that enable their high-polluting practices. Youth are important advocates in public health responses to harmful industries and their playbook. However, limited research has sought youth perspectives about fossil fuel industry tactics, as well as how to engage youth in discussions and decision-making about commercial and political climate determinants.

Methods
An online qualitative survey using photo elicitation techniques with n=500 Australian youth (aged 15-24) investigated their perspectives of fossil fuel industry tactics, youth’s power to respond, and changes needed for effective climate action. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to construct themes from the data.

Results
Participants stated that the fossil fuel industry uses disingenuous messaging practices such as greenwashing to strengthen their reputation, and employs lobbying strategies such as political donations to create favourable policy conditions. Participants described how individual climate actions such as using public transport and eating less meat were ineffective compared to structural responses - specifically dismantling the fossil-fuel economy. They called for the enforcement of evidence-based policies, including to facilitate a renewable energy transition. Participants also discussed how youth have some power to influence industry practices, including via advocacy and boycotts, but not policies about industry practices. As such they described the importance of structural changes to embed youth influence in climate decision-making.

Conclusion
The strength of youth knowledge and moral convictions about industry practices and tactics represents a powerful and largely untapped resource for change. The public health community is well-positioned to outreach to and collaborate with youth to develop mechanisms which amplify youth perspectives, and embed their influence in discussions and decisions about the commercial and political determinants of the climate crisis.

Background: Diet, physical inactivity and obesity are major causes of preventable death. Despite evidence for many effective healthy eating (HE) and physical activity (PA) interventions in primary schools, their implementation at scale remains challenging. To scale-up, we must consider intervention efficacy and the perspectives of end-users and policymakers. Building on recent studies assessing implementation and school perspectives, this research explores policymakers’ perceptions of scalability and priorities.

Aim: This study describes Australian policymakers’ perspectives on the scalability of effective HE and PA interventions, and the implementation priorities for their jurisdiction.

Methods: An online national cross-sectional study is being conducted with approximately 50 policy and decisionmakers. The survey includes quantitative and structured open-ended items and will gather participant perspectives on 15 evidence-based HE and PA components derived from systematic reviews of school-based interventions. Participants are asked to report perceived scalability on three domains for each component; following presentation of the prevalence of implementation, and school perspectives on scalability, indicate whether they would recommend for implementation; and score the implementation priority of each intervention.

Results: The survey commenced in August 2024 and will conclude in 2024. Means of the three scalability domains, proportion of policymakers recommending, and mean implementation priority scores will be presented for each intervention component.

Conclusions: This evidence will assist the translation of research into practice which is often complex and influenced by policymakers. This study creates new knowledge regarding policymakers’ perspectives and priorities regarding effective HE and PA interventions in primary schools.

Problem: Despite some evidence of the value for money of cancer preventive health initiatives, investment in prevention remains low compared with treatment. Providing economic evidence to governments, philanthropists and service providers is crucial for securing funding for existing programs and investment in cancer care amidst budget constraints.

What we did: In 2017, we launched the Economics of Cancer Collaboration (EOCC), a partnership between Deakin Health Economics and Cancer Council Victoria (CCV), to generate high-quality research, particularly on the value of cancer prevention. A health economist was embedded across both organisations to co-lead research on clinical outcomes, cost-effectiveness, productivity impacts, and economic benefits. The Collaboration also engaged stakeholders through symposia, forums, and training sessions, disseminating findings, building capacity within CCV, and influencing broader public health agendas.

Results: The Collaboration produced multiple economic analyses on the value of prevention strategies, informing advocacy and critical policy and budget decisions. The research was used in funding submissions, providing new evidence of returns on investment for key prevention initiatives. Evidence gathered across diverse initiatives including Quitline, obesity prevention and SunSmart, was projected to save more than 52,000 life years and $86M healthcare costs over the lifetime of Australians. Furthermore, the Collaboration has attracted substantial research funding ($2.3M), published 17 works, delivered 40 presentations, and informed clinical guidance, 8 policy briefs and education curricula. Collaboration funding has been extended to 2027.

Lessons: The EOCC's strategic partnership with an embedded health economist has been instrumental in driving significant advancements in cancer research and policy. The collaborative environment has helped overcome limited research capacity and built health economics expertise, leading to a more comprehensive and impactful approach to cancer prevention. By integrating economic insights and streamlining the research-to-policy pipeline, the partnership has accelerated the translation of research findings into actionable insights and cancer prevention policy recommendations in Victoria.

Problem
In Australia, policy levers for preventive health action are held at multiple levels of government. Among the most important health determinants under the control of state and territory governments are access to housing and funding for the community sector. In the ACT, the proportion of all housing which is public housing had declined from 12.2% in 1989 to 5.7% in 2024. The community sector delivers a range of preventive health programs, including mental health, sexual health, alcohol and other drug, and poverty alleviation, among others. Anecdotally, funding for the community sector was also declining and inhibiting delivery of public health programs.
What you did
Ahead of the 2024 election, ACTCOSS mobilised other ACT community sector organisations to promote greater social housing investment. This included reframing public discussion and the principle ask in terms of the proportion of all housing which is social housing, which we argued should return to at least 10%. ACTCOSS also spearheaded the ACT for Community campaign, which attracted endorsement from over 80 organisations and over 3300 emails to candidates. ACTCOSS met with the major political parties and independent candidates, and engaged heavily with the media. This included the release of new research which showed that community sector funding as a proportion of all government expenditure declined significantly and was well behind population growth.
Results
The new ACT Government has pledged to increase the proportion of all housing which is social housing. Community sector support took on a new prominence in political party platforms, and the new ACT Government pledged to review funding for the community sector, including in relation to population growth.
Lessons
These campaigns demonstrate the importance of acting in collaboration with broad coalitions. Reliance on quantitative issue-framing and evidence enables forceful media engagement while maintaining strong relationships across the political spectrum.

The problem
The need to introduce a tobacco retail licensing scheme in NSW has been a regulatory sticking point in tobacco control policy for many years. Despite evidence supporting the effectiveness of such a scheme in reducing tobacco availability, political hurdles have delayed its implementation in NSW. Cancer Council NSW has advocated for a licensing scheme in NSW since 2007. However, in 2024, after almost two decades of advocacy, the NSW Government announced the introduction of a scheme in NSW. This presentation will detail the catalyst for action and how Cancer Council NSW advocacy contributed to this outcome.

What we did
The presentation will discuss the sustained actions of Cancer Council NSW and other NGOs to achieve policy reform since 2007, including strategic lobbying, public awareness campaigns, research and coalition-building, as well as the key moments and changes in the external political and economic landscape. The analysis draws on established public policy frameworks and practical realities to identify the factors that facilitated and hindered progress.

Results
Tobacco retail licensing legislation is before NSW Parliament and will likely pass, meaning a licensing scheme will be implemented in 2025. The presentation will detail successes that led to this policy breakthrough, including aligning advocacy efforts with political opportunities, the use of evidence-based arguments to counter opposition, building community support and seizing on key moments of interest.

Lessons
The journey of policy reform offers value lessons for future advocacy efforts. These include the importance of sustained advocacy, the strategic use of evidence, and the need for adaptive strategies in response to changing political environments. The presentation will provide insights into how these lessons can inform ongoing and future campaigns to reform public health policy.