The Australian government will provide Cancer Australia with A$2.4 million ($2.44 million) over the next four years to improve cancer data and cancer care across the nation, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Wednesday.

According to Gillard, through this funding, Cancer Australia will develop a framework to monitor and report on a set of indicators that will benchmark cancer control efforts in Australia, nationally and internationally.

Australians diagnosed with cancer will benefit from better collection and reporting of national cancer data under this new funding initiative. It will start on July 1, 2013.

"National collection and reporting of this data will fill a significant gap in our knowledge by identifying areas that may benefit from new approaches to the delivery of best practice cancer care," Gillard said in a statement. "It will also provide important insight into variations in survival outcomes by cancer type and of the cancer pathway after diagnosis."

Cancer Australia is the Australian government's national agency providing leadership in cancer control to improve outcomes for those affected by cancer, their families and carers.