About the National Cancer Screening Register

The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) is a world-first, digital platform developed to underpin the Australian Government’s National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP), National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) and, from July 2025, National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP). The screening programs encourage age-eligible people to screen regularly so signs of cancer can be detected and treated early.

The NCSR has been designed to enable a single electronic record for each person participating in the programs, and provides a national electronic infrastructure for the collection, storage, analysis and reporting of screening program data. 

• Inviting and reminding eligible people to participate in bowel and cervical screening and supports clinical follow-up for participants with screen-detected abnormalities. Patients at high-risk of lung cancer can be enrolled in the lung screening program by their healthcare provider when the program commences from July 2025.
• Generating comprehensive data to inform policy and improve screening program quality and service delivery.

The NCSR provides healthcare professionals better access to quality health information and makes it easier for program participants to take control of their health.

• maintaining a national database of bowel screening records 
• inviting eligible people to commence screening when they turn 50 
• distributing iFOBT screening kits (a test kit people can complete at home)
• providing participant screening information to healthcare providers to assist with clinical recommendations and the reporting of current test results
• enabling appropriate follow-up for participants who are at risk and who have not attended further testing.

• maintaining a national database of cervical screening records 
• inviting eligible people to commence cervical screening when they turn 25 
• reminding participants when they are due and overdue for cervical screening
• providing participant cervical screening histories to laboratories to inform screening recommendations
• providing a ‘safety net’ for participants who are at risk and who have not attended further testing by prompting them to have follow-up tests. 

• managing participant information and sending screening reminders to eligible individuals.
• providing healthcare providers with access to participants' screening histories (excluding CT scan images).
• supporting mandatory reporting for radiologists to ensure accurate lung cancer screening data recording.
• providing data for program monitoring and evaluation to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.