Luminesce Alliance welcomes cancer precision medicine funding boost for ZERO

In the lead up to the Federal Budget delivered 25 March 2025, we are delighted to see a focus on precision medicine funding, including the award of $112.6 million to one of our valued partners, Children’s Cancer Institute (CCI), to extend and expand the Zero Childhood Cancer Program (ZERO).  The federal government also awarded $30.8 million to extend the Precision Oncology Screening Platform led by Omico; and $6.7 million to continue the Australian Rare Cancers Portal.

Congratulations to CCI CEO Professor Michelle Haber AM, Executive Director of CCI and her team on such a significant achievement.

As Michelle reiterated, “Nowhere else in the world do children with cancer have the opportunity of benefiting from a precision program of this depth and impact.”

ZERO is a world-leading national precision medicine program run in partnership with the Kids Cancer Centre at Sydney Children’s Hospital.

The $112.6 million investment, delivered over three years from the Australian Government, ensures ZERO continues to be available to every Australian child with cancer, as it has been since late 2023.

In addition, the new funding also allows the extension of ZERO to young people aged 19-25 with cancers that are typically seen in childhood, including young people whose childhood cancer has relapsed. CCI anticipate the expanded program will support an additional 300 young Australians with cancer every year.

For more information about the 2025-2026 Budget and:

• precision medicine, view The Hon. Mark Butler MP media release, and the CCI media release
• the impact for health and medical research and innovation, view Research Australia’s statement and members may access a comprehensive 2025-2026 Budget Update.

Image L-R: Matt Thistlethwaite, Federal Minister for Kingsford Smith and The Hon Mark Butler MP, Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care with Professor Michelle Haber AM, Executive Director Children’s Cancer Institute