The Victorian Cancer Registry

What is the Cancer Registry?

The Cancer Council Victoria is the agency established under the Cancer Act (1958) to receive notification of cancer in Victoria. The Cancer Council Victoria manages this function through the Victorian Cancer Registry. The Cancer Registry maintains a Register of all cases of cancer diagnosed in Victoria since the beginning of 1982.

All information sent to the Cancer Registry is confidential, is held under tight security and is protected by the Cancer Act.

What information is on the Register?

Information is collected about patients with cancer and includes:

• name and address
• date of birth
• country of birth
• whether the person is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
• clinical details about the cancer
• the notifying institution and doctor.

Personal details, such as name and address, are needed to ensure that accurate information is recorded for each person and that each new cancer is only counted once in the statistics. However, these details are kept strictly confidential.

Who has access to information on the Register?

The Registry publishes regular reports showing numbers of cases and rates of different types of cancer in summary form. These reports do not disclose names or other identifying information of cancer patients. These reports are available to the public. To obtain copies of its publications please contact the Cancer Registry.

More detailed information that does not include the names of cancer patients is also made available to the Victorian Department of Human Services, Local Government Authorities, health care institutions, health professionals and health researchers.

Additional information

A pamphlet outlining the information listed on this page, and additional information on what the information on the Register is used for, and how the information gets on to the register, can be obtained by contacting the Cancer Registry.