The project, titled ‘Partnering with First Nations communities in Goulburn Valley to implement culturally safe access and navigation in the cancer system’, will be led by GV Health medical oncology director Dr Javier Torres and Border Medical Oncology’s Dr Craig Underhill.
It will be delivered in partnership with Border Medical Oncology Research Unit, Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative, Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Genesis Care Shepparton, Hume Regional Integrated Cancer Service and Murray Primary Health Network.
Only 15 projects across Australia received funding through the Cancer Australia program.
For the Goulburn Valley, the investment represents a major step in embedding culturally safe care in the cancer system.
Dr Torres said the project built on earlier work to improve access to clinical trials for First Nations people and would be guided by true co-design.
“This is not about us arriving with a solution,” he said.
“It will be developed in partnership with community members and organisations, to ensure it reflects their needs and priorities.
“Respect, empowerment and cultural safety are at the heart of the project.”
Senior project manager Katie Thorp said the three-year program would introduce new roles to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients through their cancer journey.
“The aim is to have dedicated staff, drawn from the community, who can walk alongside patients and families as they move between services,” she said.
The project will explore the creation of two new patient support roles, described as a ‘navigator’ or ‘journey partner’, to help First Nations patients and their families at every stage of cancer care.
This support will extend beyond the hospital walls, recognising that many patients need assistance across multiple services and locations.
“For patients, it’s not just about appointments,” Dr Torres said.
“It’s about feeling respected, valued and empowered in decisions about their care.
“That’s what cultural safety means.”
The project also aims to address systemic barriers that contribute to poorer outcomes for First Nations people affected by cancer, by ensuring services are more responsive, co-ordinated and grounded in community voice.
The Goulburn Valley has one of the largest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations in Victoria outside Melbourne.
GV Health and its partners believe this makes the region an ideal place to pilot new models of care that could be expanded more widely in the future.
Ms Thorp said strong relationships built through previous projects, such as clinical trial access programs, had laid the groundwork for this new initiative.
“The trust that already exists between GV Health, Rumbalara and other community partners has been critical,” she said.
“This project is an opportunity to strengthen that trust and deliver something that makes a real difference.”
Over the next three years, the project team will work closely with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, partner organisations and advisory groups to design and implement the navigator roles made possible by the grant.
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