Skin checks hit the road for Truck Week

Australian Skin Cancer Foundation backs Personal Preventative Maintenance campaign

Crossing the Nullarbor in a brand-new Sitrak truck carrying Australia’s first 3D skin check mobile clinic is not your average delivery run.

For Bob Martin, it was a privilege - and another meaningful chapter in a long connection with Australia’s heavy vehicle industry.

Now retired, Bob was the first President of Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia and the last President of its predecessor, the Commercial Vehicle Industry Association of Queensland. So when he was entrusted with taking the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation’s newest truck on its maiden run across the Nullarbor, it was a fitting role for someone who has spent so much of his life around the people, vehicles and businesses that keep Australia moving.

Behind the wheel, Bob helped take a major piece of health technology across one of the most iconic stretches of road in the country - a fitting first journey for a vehicle built to bring skin checks closer to the people and places that need them.

The truck carries a body imaging machine of the kind normally found in major skin clinics in bigger cities and towns. But this one is mobile.

As Bob put it, it is “the first mobile 3D skin clinic to be running around the countryside.”

“It’s an absolute honour to be given the privilege to drive this truck on its maiden voyage across the Nullarbor,” he said, thanking Jay Allen and the Foundation for “bestowing that trust” in him.

For Truck Week 2026, the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation has joined as a partner in the Personal Preventative Maintenance campaign - Your Essential 5-Point Maintenance Check.

The campaign uses language the industry understands. You don’t wait for a failure, ignore a warning sign or leave a problem too long. Preventative maintenance works best when it happens early - and that applies to people just as much as it applies to trucks.

One of the five checks is Bodywork - a reminder that visible signs can tell us a lot.

We pay attention to the outside of a vehicle because marks, damage or changes can point to something that needs a closer look. The same idea applies to your body.

For many people across transport, freight, warehousing, workshops, manufacturing and logistics, long hours in the sun are part of the job. Over time, that exposure adds up - and skin cancer does not discriminate.

Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, but when it is found early, it is highly treatable. Most skin cancers are visible, which means a simple check can save your life.

The message is straightforward: if something has changed, appeared recently or just does not look right, don’t ignore it. Book a check, speak to your GP or health professional, or learn more through the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation.

That is the practical spirit behind the Foundation’s mobile clinics, which are designed to bring skin checks directly to communities, workplaces and events across the country.

Founded by Jay Allen OAM in 2021, the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation was created to raise awareness, support patients, fund research and advocate for better access to skin cancer checks.

Jay’s own story is central to the Foundation’s work. A melanoma survivor and later a throat cancer survivor, he has turned personal experience into a national mission built around early detection, education and support.

“The Australian Skin Cancer Foundation is about saving lives through awareness, early detection and access,” Jay said.

“Too many Australians still leave skin checks too late. By taking clinics to communities and workplaces, we can make that first step easier - and that can make all the difference.”

The Foundation’s skin check trucks bring that mission to life in a very practical way. They are built for distance, access and visibility - taking specialist equipment beyond the places where it is usually available.

That makes the partnership with Truck Week a natural fit.

Truck Week is about recognising the people who keep Australia moving — behind the wheel, in the depot, warehouse, workshop, factory or office. It is also about using that national moment to encourage simple, practical actions that support the people behind the industry.

The Personal Preventative Maintenance campaign is not about lecturing people or adding pressure to already busy lives. It is about making the next step easier and more familiar - whether that is booking a GP appointment, asking about a skin check, following up on a concern, or using one of the campaign’s trusted partner pathways.

The Australian Skin Cancer Foundation’s work fits squarely with that approach: take the check to where people are, make the conversation easier, and give people a better chance of catching issues early.

Bob’s Nullarbor run captured that spirit perfectly - an outstanding piece of machinery on an outstanding stretch of country, carrying a serious message in a very Australian way.

And during Truck Week, that same message will be carried into workplaces, depots, yards, workshops, factories, warehouses and offices across the country.

Don’t wait for a breakdown.
Don’t wait until something goes wrong.
Use the next chance you get.

Book the appointment. Ask the question. Check your bodywork.