National Cervical Screening Program
Cancer screening involves testing asymptomatic individuals to identify early signs of cancer or precancerous conditions before their progression to cancer. In Australia, there are national population-based screening programs for breast, cervical, and bowel cancers, and a national targeted screening program for lung cancer that commenced on 1 July 2025. The National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) is Australia's national population-based cervical screening program. It aims to reduce morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer by early detection of pre-cancerous cervical abnormalities in asymptomatic women and people with a cervix.
The NCSP is a highly successful public health initiative in Australia, with cervical cancer incidence and mortality halving since it was introduced in 1991. Until December 2017, this was achieved through organised, population-based cervical screening using 2-yearly Pap tests to detect precancerous changes to cervical cells, allowing treatment before any progression to cervical cancer, thereby preventing this disease. Cervical screening using Pap tests was supported by pathology laboratories through the provision of high-quality cervical cytology, and by state and territory cervical screening registers through appropriate recommendations for clinical management and provision of a safety net for participants.
Improvements in technology, a greater understanding of the role of HPV in the development of cervical cancer, and the introduction of an HPV vaccine that is now administered to girls and boys under the National Immunisation Program, led to the NCSP being reviewed, to ensure that the NCSP continued to provide Australians with safe and effective cervical screening. As a result of this, a renewed NCSP was introduced on 1 December 2017.
The renewed NCSP meant a change from 2-yearly Pap tests for the target age group 20–69 to 5-yearly HPV tests with partial genotyping and liquid-based cytology (LBC) triage in asymptomatic women and people with a cervix aged 25–74. In addition, since 1 July 2022, everyone who is eligible for cervical screening is able to choose between a self-collected vaginal sample or a clinician-collected cervical sample for their HPV test.
Data collection also moved from state and territory cervical screening registers to the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR).