QIM 9: Proportion of female regular clients with an up-to-date cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years
Overview
Cervical cancer develops when abnormal cells in the lining of the cervix begin to multiply out of control and form pre-cancerous abnormalities. If undetected, these abnormalities can develop into cervical cancer and spread into the surrounding tissue. Australia commenced an organised program of routine cervical screening of the eligible population in 1991, and the cervical screening test was introduced in Australia in December 2017, replacing the old Pap smear test. The Pap smear test used to look for changes in the cells of the cervix. The new cervical screening test looks for evidence of human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cell changes in the cervix (AIHW 2023). In Australia, cervical cancer accounts for less than 2% of all female cancers, with an age-standardised incidence rate of 7.0 cases per 100,000 (AIHW 2024d).
Women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 74 years are eligible to receive their first cervical screening test 2 years after their last Pap smear. After this test, cervical screening should be conducted every 5 years. As part of Australia’s National Strategy for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer, the 2030 screening target is to achieve at least 70% participation in 5-yearly screening among eligible people aged 25 to 74 years, instead of the previous goal of two screenings in a lifetime (ACPCC 2023).
Capture of results recorded outside of the general practice setting
Results arising from cervical screening tests conducted outside of the service that are known and recorded by the practice are included in the measure. However, sometimes cervical screening test results recorded elsewhere are not captured in this report. For example, this might be a result from a community health centre, women’s health centre, family planning or sexual health clinic that is not recorded in the clinical information system (CIS) of the client’s usual general practice due to incompatible CISs between a practice and a specialist service.
Other sources of relevant data
There are other administrative data collections where the data on cervical screening tests are captured, for example, the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR).
This indicator reports on the proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years, who have not had a hysterectomy, who had a cervical screening test (for human papillomavirus) recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years.
The QIM proportions summarised by the different extraction tools in use are also shown in the ‘Regional proportions’ bar charts for this measure. This illustrates the differences in how software providers have interpreted the technical specifications and coding of QIMs.
QIM 9: Regional proportions
As of July 2025, nationally, 43.7% of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years had a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years. This varied from 31.9% to 60.6% across PHNs, and between 41.2% and 53.4% across extraction tools.
Figure 50: Proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years, by PHN, or by ET (extraction tool), July 2025
This bar chart shows the proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record, by PHN for July 2025.
QIM 9: National proportions over time
Nationally, between July 2024 and July 2025, the proportion of female regular clients who had a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years increased by 3.7 percentage points, or 179,964 clients, from 40.0% to 43.7%.
Figure 51: Proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years, July 2024 to July 2025
This line chart shows the proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record, from July 2024 to July 2025.
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QIM 9: National proportions by age
As of July 2025, nationally, the proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years was highest in the 45–54 years age group (48.7%) and lowest in the 25–34 years age group (36.3%).
Figure 52: Proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record within the previous 5 years, by age, July 2025
This bar chart shows the proportion of female regular clients aged 25 to 74 years with a cervical screening test recorded in their GP record, by age for July 2025.
- Data are reported quarterly for services delivered to female regular clients in the given period (5 years).
- Results arising from clinical intervention conducted outside of the service that are known and recorded by the service are included in the measure.
- Clients who had a sub-total hysterectomy are included in the measure.
- HPV tests where the sample is either collected by a health practitioner or self-collected are included.
- Clients are excluded from the measure if they:
- had a complete hysterectomy,
- did not have the test due to documented medical reasons, system reasons (test not available), or client reasons (e.g. refusal),
- had results from measurements conducted outside of the service which were not available to the service, or
- no longer require testing.
- There are other administrative data collections where the data on cervical screening test are captured for eligible persons with a cervix for example, the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR).
ACPCC (Australian Centre for the Prevention of Cervical Cancer) (2023) National Strategy for the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in Australia, Carlton, Victoria, accessed 4 September 2025.
AIHW (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare) (2014) Type 2 diabetes in Australia’s children and young people: a working paper, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 5 September 2025.
AIHW (2023) National Cervical Screening Program monitoring report 2023, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 5 September 2025.
AIHW (2024d) Cancer data in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 5 September 2025.