The Cancer Nursing Workforce
It's also about shining a spotlight on the workforce behind cancer care and raising awareness of the expertise, leadership and specialist knowledge that cancer nurses bring to improving outcomes for people affected by cancer.
By celebrating the profession, we also create opportunities to strengthen it.
Strengthening the cancer nursing workforce
Cancer nurses play an essential role across every stage of the cancer journey, providing expert clinical care, coordinating complex treatment, supporting patients and families, and driving improvements through education, research and leadership.
As demand for cancer services continues to grow, supporting a skilled, sustainable and recognised cancer nursing workforce has never been more important.
This is why Cancer Nurses Day is not only a celebration - it's an opportunity to raise awareness of the profession, advocate for the workforce and recognise the value cancer nurses bring to Australia's health system every day.
Recognition leads to stronger outcomes
Recognising cancer nurses isn't just about saying thank you.
Recognition helps raise the profile of the profession, supports workforce advocacy, highlights the need for continued investment in education and professional development, and reinforces the critical role cancer nurses play in delivering high-quality, person-centred cancer care.
A strong, skilled and supported workforce benefits everyone - especially people affected by cancer.
Understanding Australia's Cancer Nursing Workforce - 2025 Workforce Survey Digest
To advocate effectively, we need to understand the workforce we're advocating for.
This Cancer Nurses Day, we’re proud to launch the 2025 Cancer Nursing Workforce Survey Digest, capturing the voices and experiences of almost 1,000 cancer nurses from every state and territory across Australia. The Digest provides an important snapshot of our workforce today - three years on from our first nationwide cancer nursing survey.
It highlights strengths, challenges and priorities, and provides valuable evidence to help inform workforce sustainability, advanced practice, education, retention, succession planning, regional and rural access, equity, and the future capability of the cancer nursing workforce.