Participant Portal User Guide

The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) allows for a single electronic record for each person in Australia participating in cervical and bowel screening.

The intention of this guide is to assist users to communicate and interact with the NCSR through the Participant Portal.

The Participant Portal allows those with a myGov account to communicate with the NCSR in order to:

• View and update your demographic details that the NCSR has documented
• View your screening status, update your program details and participation, such as defer next screening and cease correspondence
• Nominate other people to assist you or receive reminders, including a healthcare provider (bowel and cervical program) or a personal representative (bowel program only)
• Update communication preferences – opt for SMS or email notifications when you have a new message in the Participant Portal, instead of receiving postal mail
• View and download previously sent program correspondence.

For any support queries, please call 1800 627 701 and speak to a member of our Contact Centre, or you can book in a time to receive a call back.

1. Accessing the Participant Portal
   • Identity verification requirements
2. Viewing Program Details
   
3. Adding or updating your personal details
4. Viewing messages (correspondence) from the NCSR
5. Contact Us
6. Glossary of Definitions
7. Next Screening Action Definitions
8. Appendix – guidance on verifying your identity documents

This section will guide you through accessing the Participant Portal for the first time.

Before you register for the Participant Portal for the first time, you will need a myGov account.

myGov is a simple and secure way to access government services online in one place. If you don’t have a myGov account, visit my.gov.au/create-account.

To login to myGov and link the NCSR:

1. Go to the myGov sign in page
2. Use your existing username and password to sign in
3. Once you have signed in, click View and link services, then click the Link button for National Cancer Screening Register

To link your myGov account to the NCSR, you will need to complete a one-time identity verification as a security check.

This will require you to submit details for at least two forms of ID, depending on the first ID you submit.

If you choose to use your Medicare number as your first ID, you will need to provide details for one more form of ID:

If you choose to use your Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) file number or Individual Health Identifier (IHI) number as your first ID, you will need to provide details for two more forms of ID:

Note: IDs marked with an asterisk (*) cannot be used if they have been used as a previous ID.

In order to confirm your identity with the NCSR, you will need submit details for at least two forms of identifying documentation as a security check.

Your documentation will be verified with the Australian Government's Document Verification Service (DVS). The NCSR will not keep any copies or details submitted when verifying your identity.

Select one of the following identifiers you would like to use first:

• Medicare Card number
• Department of veterans Affair (DVA) file number
• Individual Health identifier (IHI) number

Then confirm you consent to these documents being confirmed with the document issuer or official record holder by a third-party.

Select “Continue”.

Enter your personal details including Family name, Given Name, Date of birth and Sex.

Continue by entering the identifying details of the above identifiers.

Select “Continue”.

Additional identifying documents that you may need to submit to the DVS in order to confirm your identity can include:

• Medicare Card
• Australian Driver’s License
• Australian Passport
• ImmiCard (Immigration Card)
• Australian Birth Certificate
• Australian Citizenship certificate
• International Passport with Visa
• Marriage Certificate
• Name Change Document

Once you select the identifying document you would like to submit, you will be asked to enter the document details.

Select “Verify”.

You may need to submit further documentation until your identify is verified.

More information:

• Refer to 1.2 Identity verification requirements – for guidance on the identifying documents you will need to submit
• Refer to the Appendix for more detail on the Australian Government’s Document Verification Service (DVS) requirements for identity documents.

Example: Australian Driver’s License

After all your documents have been verified, you will need to accept the Terms and Conditions.

Ensure all checkboxes are selected and click “Accept” after reading.

You will now be redirected to the NCSR Participant Portal home page. 

2.1 View your next test date and last test date

When you log into the NCSR Participant Portal, you will land on the “Program Details” page.  If eligible (Refer to Section 6 Glossary for details on Eligibility), you can select between the two programs, including the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) or the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) at the top of the page.

On the “Program Details” page you will be able to view your Last Screening and Next Screening information for the selected program.

The Last Screening will be the date that you completed your most recent test, or details about your current status in the program.

The Next Screening will show the next step for your participation in the selected screening program.

Refer to Section 8 for a full list of Next Screening Actions and definitions. 

On the Bowel tab, the following options may be available:

• Request a bowel cancer screening test kit – If you are eligible, or require a replacement
• Order a replacement Participant Details form – A replacement form which will be mailed out and can be filled in and submitted along with the bowel test kit
• Opt out – If you no longer want to participate in the Bowel Program, you can opt out of the program
• Resume participation – This option is only visible if you have previously opted out of the Bowel Program or have been excluded due to medical reasons, you can resume participation into the program to receive invitations and reminders
• Defer – If you wish to delay your participation in the Bowel Program until a date in the future, you can defer
• Communication preferences – you can choose to be notified by SMS or email when you have a new message in the Participant Portal, instead of receiving postal mail

On the Cervical tab, the following options may be available:

• Opt Out – If you no longer want to participate in the Cervical Program, you can Opt Out of the program.
• Resume participation – This option is only visible if you have previously Opted out of the Cervical Program or have been excluded due to medical reasons, you can resume participation into the program to receive invitations and reminders.
• Defer – If you wish to delay your participation in the Cervical Program until a date in the future, you can Defer.
• Cease Correspondence – If you wish to no longer receive contact or correspondence from the Cervical Program, however would like to still be a part of the program.
• Resume Correspondence – If you wish to receive contact or correspondence from the Cervical Program after previously ceasing correspondence.
• Communication preferences – you can choose to be notified by SMS or email when you have a new message in the Participant Portal, instead of receiving postal mail.

You can view two types of your personal details on the NCSR Participant Portal; Your Medicare Details, or your Program Details.

Medicare Details show the details that are stored with Medicare. The NCSR cannot update this information (including date of birth), however if you notice any updates required, please contact Medicare directly. 

My Details show the information the NCSR currently has stored against your record. This includes information such as your current contact information, if you have nominated a healthcare provider or personal representative to receive reminder correspondence, and any further information around your background. This information can be set per program, or across both.

Note: You can nominate a personal representative using the portal for the bowel program only. To nominate one for the cervical program, please call us on 1800 627 701.

3.1 Updating your address

To update your address which will be used to send correspondence from the NCSR:

1. Go to the program you wish to update (If you wish to update across both programs, at the bottom of each section you will be able to select “Update across both programs” before submission).
2. Click on “My Details”.
3. Go to “Participant Details” of details you wish to update, and click “Update”.

You will have the option to complete a lookup for the address under “Address Lookup”. If you cannot find your address, you can choose to click “tick to manually enter your address”, and type into the corresponding fields.

Once all required details have been selected, click “Review” to confirm the update, and then “Submit”.

To update your nominated provider:

1. Go to the program you wish to update (If you wish to update across both programs, at the bottom of each section you will be able to select “Update across both programs” before submission).
2. Click on “My Details”
3. Go to “Nominated Provider” of details you wish to update, and click “Update”
4. A lookup will be available for you to search for your healthcare provider. You can search for them using either their first or last name. Further details will be available in the lookup to confirm which provider you are selecting.
5. Once all required details have been selected, click “Review” to confirm the update, and then “Submit”

If you wish to update any other personal details for the program, you will be able to do so by following the steps below:

1. Go to the program you wish to update (If you wish to update across both programs, at the bottom of  each section you will be able to select “Update across both programs” before submission).
2. Click on “My Details”
3. Go to the type of details you wish to update, and click “Update”
4. Update your details as required, and when completed, click “Review”
5. Review the details, and if correct, click “Submit”

The below screenshot relates to the type of details you can update in the Bowel Program

The below screenshot relates to the type of details you can update in the Cervical Program

You can view the correspondence sent to you via postal mail, directly through the Participant Portal:

• Go to the program you wish to view the messages from.
• Click on “Messages”.

This will display a table of all correspondence sent to you via the NCSR, with a PDF version available for you to view or download. To do this,  click on “View”  (this document can also be downloaded by selecting the download option on your PDF viewer).

You can choose to be notified by SMS or email when you have a new message in the Participant Portal, instead of receiving postal mail.

This can be done through either program under the Program Details tab.

Select the Communication Preferences tile then fill in the form to update your preference to one of the following:

• SMS notifications to view messages in the Portal
• Email notifications to view notifications in the Portal
• Continue to receive postal mail

Your preferences will be applied to all screening programs supported by the NCSR.

If you have any issues with the login process, or believe there is something incorrect with the information detailed on the Participant Portal, you can Contact Us in the following ways:

• Click the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page. This will open a new window to the NCSR website online enquiry form. Identify the request type and submit the form
• Call our Contact Centre at 1800 627 701

All these details can be found in the footer of the Participant Portal as well.