Cancer survival rises in Australia but younger diagnoses increase, report says
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A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows that Australians diagnosed with cancer are living longer, with the five-year relative survival rate rising from 50% to 72% over 30 years. However, the report also indicates that cancer diagnosis rates for people in their 30s and 40s increased between 2000 and 2025, even as death rates declined and survival improved for those age groups. The AIHW’s biennial report card, released on Thursday, also highlights falling childhood vaccination rates and rising cases of measles, diphtheria, and whooping cough. Childhood immunisation for one-year-olds dropped from 95% to 92% between September 2020 and September 2025, with similar declines for two-year-olds and five-year-olds. The report attributes the vaccination decline to practical challenges, mistrust of healthcare information, and concerns over vaccine safety since the Covid pandemic. Additionally, the report finds that one-third of Australia’s disease burden could be prevented by modifying risk and environmental factors, and that mental health conditions are affecting a growing number of Australians, particularly young people.
What’s reported
The five-year relative survival rate for cancer patients increased from 50% to 72% in 30 years.
Cancer diagnosis rates for people in their 30s and 40s grew between 2000 and 2025, but death rates declined and survival improved.
Childhood immunisation for one-year-olds fell from 95% to 92% between September 2020 and September 2025.
For two-year-olds, vaccination dropped from 93% to 90%; for five-year-olds, from 95% to 93%.
Notifications for measles, diphtheria, and whooping cough have risen.
One-third of Australia’s disease burden could be prevented by modifying risk and environmental factors.
Australians have higher life expectancy at birth, are less likely to smoke daily, more likely to vape regularly, consume more alcohol on average, and are more likely to live with obesity compared with the OECD average.
Mental health conditions are affecting a growing number of Australians, particularly young people.
Key figures
Louise Gates, AIHW spokesperson
Nicholas Chartres, associate professor and health researcher at the University of Sydney
Sources: The Guardian
