Liver Foundation is Australia’s national peak body for all liver diseases and liver cancer. Its vision is a future where liver health is valued, liver disease and cancer are prevented or detected early, and every person affected has access to the best possible care and support. Its mission is to transform outcomes by advancing education, providing compassionate support, driving research, and advocating for systemic change.

Liver cancer is one of Australia’s fastest-growing and deadliest cancers, yet for too long it has remained invisible. Each year, more than 3,200 people are diagnosed, and over 2,500 lives are lost. Survival is among the poorest of any cancer, just 23% for non-Indigenous Australians and only 9% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Almost 90% of those diagnosed already live with chronic liver disease, which itself affects one in three Australians5.

In the face of this crisis, Liver Foundation rose to the challenge. With only one staff member in 2024, the organisation secured funding under the Australian Cancer Nursing and Navigation Program and began building a national response. Within twelve months, the Foundation had grown its workforce to six, created new resources, and expanded its digital reach from 15,000 to 65,000 people per month.

At the heart of this transformation is Australia’s first Nurse-led Telehealth Support Line for people with primary liver and biliary cancer, launched in May 2025. Staffed by specialist hepatology nurses, the service provides free, confidential, and culturally sensitive guidance for patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals affected by primary liver cancer. Interpreter services are available in more than 150 languages.

The Support Line was designed with the input of patients, carers and clinicians and reviewed by the Liver Foundation’s Clinical and Scientific Committee, which includes some of the nation’s leading hepatologists. It is backed by sustainable funding through to 2027, with rigorous reporting and evaluation ensuring accountability.

Since launch, call volumes have grown steadily, with two-thirds of callers being patients and one-third carers. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with patient feedback surveys indicating 100% patient satisfaction. The innovation has already been recognised with presentations at the West Coast Liver Meeting, the NSW Cancer Institute Cancer Summit, and a poster at the Gastroenterological Society of Australia’s 2025 World Congress of Gastroenterology.

The Nurse-led Telehealth Support Line is more than a service — it is a lifeline. For the first time, Australians affected by liver cancer have a trusted, evidence-based, and culturally safe support system, ensuring no one faces liver cancer alone.

For more information about the Liver Foundation, visit liver.org.au.