On Monday 15th June 2026 Billie Tuckerman from Proton Cancer Access Australia stood alongside South Australian Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn and Opposition Health Minister Jack Batty to call for urgent action on proton therapy in Australia.

The full press conference is linked below, but the message is simple: Australian cancer patients should not still be waiting for access to a treatment already available overseas.

This comes as 7NEWS has also reported renewed hope that the Federal Government is considering options for Australia’s first proton therapy centre, including a potential proposal through Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne.

Proton Cancer Access Australia welcomes any genuine proposal that improves access for Australian patients.

If Peter Mac can help deliver treatment sooner, that is a good thing.

But this is not about South Australia versus Victoria.

It is about getting the national solution right.

The Australian Government’s own strategy estimated demand for proton therapy at 372 patients a year by 2025, with nearly two-thirds expected to be children, adolescents and young adults.

We are now past 2025, and Australia still has no functioning proton therapy centre.

That demand is no longer theoretical.

The same strategy identified the Australian Bragg Centre in Adelaide as Australia’s first centre, with capacity for 750 patients a year by 2031, and future expansion into other states as part of a networked national approach.

A Melbourne option may have a place in Australia’s future proton therapy network, but it should not replace the comprehensive Adelaide facility already built for this purpose.

Independent international expert advice also makes clear that the single fixed-beam upright system proposed through Peter Mac, while promising in some settings, is not the most appropriate solution for Australia’s first national proton therapy facility, particularly for complex cancers and paediatric patients.

So put both options on the table. Move both forward.

Australia does not just need “a” proton therapy machine.

Australia needs the right national proton therapy service, with capacity now and a network for the future.

No decision-maker should have to wait until this treatment is needed for someone they love to understand why Australians have waited too long.

No more delays. No more uncertainty. No more families forced overseas.

Australia needs proton therapy, and it needs to get this decision right.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=4554212838188180