This paper details the approach and progress being made by the cross-sectoral Shade Working Goup (SWG) across health and the built environment to embed natural and built quality shade provision in places used by the community in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.

Through the NSW Skin Cancer Prevention Strategy, the SWG has been promoting the benefits of shade for solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection, in addition to heat mitigation, among peak bodies, governments and practitioners. With representation from health- and built environment–related disciplines, the Group has set the foundations for raising awareness, as well as delivering education and advocacy initiatives to deepen engagement and generate evidence to better inform healthy built environment practice.

The approaches adopted by the SWG demonstrate effective collaborative principles for others to use to positively impact accepted practice across health and the built environment.