VICS innovations at the ACCN Showcase 2026
On 10 September 2026, staff from the VICS and some of our member health services joined cancer care experts from across the country in Adelaide at the 3rd annual Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network (ACCN) Innovations Showcase.
The ACCN chose this year’s theme – Networked excellence in action – to highlight outcomes from established partnerships, cross-service collaborations, and models of care that demonstrate networked comprehensive cancer care across diverse settings.
The VICS contributed to 3 oral presentations and 7 posters at the event:
Oral presentations
Establishing the first Victorian regional CAR T-cell therapy service and a specialised nurse project lead at Barwon Health
– Presentation by Anita Edwards, Barwon Health
BSWRICS funded a 12-month project to enable Barwon Health to prepare to become a CAR T-cell provider service by addressing the findings and requirements of a gap analysis.
- Recording coming soon
- View presentation slides (PDF)
- Read more about this project.
Gynae-oncology pathway: Shared care between Gippsland Cancer Care Centre and Monash Health
– Presentation by Caroline Lasry, GRICS
Gippsland and Monash Health clinicians codesigned a communication and repatriation pathway for gynaecological cancers, enabling Gippsland oncologists to present patients at Monash’s multidisciplinary meetings (MDMs) for shared treatment planning and ensuring patients receive treatment in the most appropriate location.
- Recording coming soon
- View presentation slides (PDF)
- Read more about this project.
Care close to home: Building capability and capacity within a formal shared care model for children with cancer living in regional Victoria
– Presentation by Justine Carder, PICS
PICS created a formalised Regional Outreach Shared Care Program (ROSCP) between the Royal Children’s Hospital, Monash Children’s Hospital, and Victoria’s main regional health service partners – along with a Service Capability Framework defining minimum requirements and scope of practice.
- Recording coming soon
- Presentation slides coming soon
- Read more about this program.
Posters
VICS Care of the older person with cancer toolkit: A resource for implementation of the OCP for older people with cancer
Our geri-oncology toolkit aims to start a conversation in health services about what services are currently available and what the possibilities are for first steps or larger focused efforts.
Cancer care for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities in Victoria: VICS Optimal Care Summits program in action
Our mixed-methods consultation identified unwarranted variations in cancer care and outcomes for CALD communities. Priority issues included longer time to first treatment, lower likelihood of receiving treatment, and higher emergency department presentations.
First Nations Cancer Coordinator: Translating an implementation toolkit into practice
Building on the success of a pilot First Nations Cancer Coordinator role in Melbourne, an implementation toolkit was codesigned with a First Nations Community Advisory Group to support health services in adopting and sustaining these roles across diverse settings.
RISE4SkinCancer: A showcase example of networked excellence in Central Victoria
RISE4SkinCancer (Regionally Integrated Systems Enhancement for Skin Cancer) is a multidisciplinary partnership that integrates lived and living experience partners, primary healthcare, community health, and specialist care services. It aims to codesign, implement, and evaluate a regionally integrated primary care model that improves equitable access to timely, optimal skin cancer diagnosis, treatment and care.
Optimising cancer support for Bendigo residents from a refugee background: Building capacity to deliver culturally safe, accessible and responsive care
A collaboration between LMICS, Bendigo Community Health Services, Bendigo Regional Cancer Centre, and local Karen and Afghan communities has increased understanding about cancer and available services by former refugees, informed culturally appropriate support by services and clinical staff support, prompted technological innovation, and most importantly enabled peer leadership and support within the Karen and Afghan communities to engage with cancer services.
Building rural workforce capability in cancer sexual wellbeing through a community of practice
LMICS developed an innovative Community of Practice (CoP) to strengthen workforce capability and overcome geographic isolation through shared expertise. An average of 47 participants attended bimonthly meetings, co-facilitated by regional and metropolitan subject matter experts – which provided education, peer support, and a safe space to build skills in sensitive conversations.
Leveraging routinely collected data to support cancer activity, access, and timeliness planning across health services within the Southern Melbourne Integrated Cancer Service catchment
SMICS prepares health service reports using de-identified data from the Victorian Admitted Episodes Dataset (VAED) and statewide cancer performance datasets including the Statewide Cancer Indicator Platform (SCIP) and Cancer Service Performance Indicators (CSPI). The reports provide recipient health services with tailored insights into cancer activity trends, treatment initiation, inter-service patient flows, and timeliness across tumour streams and over time, including for priority populations.
