Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research development delayed

The Australian Bragg Centre for Proton Therapy and Research (ABCPTR) has been advised that global supply chain issues have delayed the acquisition of key components, placing the project at a critical juncture.

All entities involved in the project, including the State Government’s Department of Treasury and Finance, the Department for Health and Wellbeing and the Commonwealth Government Department of Health and Aged Care, are committed to identifying the most suitable way forward.

Development of Australia’s first proton therapy unit is an extraordinarily ambitious and complicated project. Progressing the project to this stage has involved many significant accomplishments.

The ABCPTR team continues to make important advancements in several fields, separate to construction of the facility, that are essential for advancing proton therapy and research in Australia. These include establishing and growing the Australian Particle Therapy Clinical Quality Registry (ASPIRE), becoming the national centre for comparative planning to support Australians’ timely access to proton therapy overseas, development of the national proton therapy referral network infrastructure to streamline patient access and the continuous training and upskilling of ABCPTR staff through growing international collaborations with leading international proton therapy centres.

The ABCPTR is a subsidiary of SAHMRI. It was created in March 2020 to lead the establishment of Australia’s first proton therapy facility and associated services.

SAHMRI and ABCPTR are unable to make further public comment while project partners work to identify the most suitable way forward.