Lung cancer screening

Eligible Australians aged 50 to 70 can screen for signs of lung cancer every two years through the new National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP).

The NLCSP uses low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans to look for lung cancer in eligible people without any symptoms who are at a higher risk of lung cancer due to their age and smoking history.

Healthcare providers play an important role in supporting people to screen for lung cancer. Eligibility checks and referrals for low-dose CT scans will be overseen by healthcare providers, using knowledge of their patients’ smoking history and age.

The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) will support delivery of the NLCSP by maintaining a national database of lung cancer screening records. The NCSR will also generate screening reminders and notify people and healthcare providers of their results following a low-dose CT scan.

Healthcare providers can access the NCSR any time using the Healthcare Provider Portal.

Two new Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items have been created to provide free low-dose CT scans under the NLCSP. These will be mandatory bulk billing items and will have mandatory reporting requirements.

Eligible people invited to participate in the NLCSP must:

• be aged 50 to 70, and
• have no signs or symptoms suggestive of lung cancer (e.g. persistent cough, coughing up blood, shortness of breath), and
• smoke cigarettes or have quit within the last 10 years, and
• have a smoking history of at least 30 pack years (e.g. a pack a day for 30 years or 2 packs a day for 15 years).

When determining program eligibility, you will need to work with patients to estimate the average number of cigarettes smoked per day and over how many years. For example: if they smoked 20 cigarettes per day (one pack) for 30 years, this is the equivalent of 30 pack years.  

People do not have to quit smoking to participate in the NLCSP.

For people who are not eligible to participate in the NLCSP, it is important to discuss their potential eligibility in the future, remind them to seek medical advice if they notice any potential lung cancer symptoms and provide smoking and vaping cessation advice.

People with potential lung cancer symptoms should not be referred to the  NLCSP. Instead, their symptoms should be investigated according to the Cancer Australia guide to Investigating symptoms of lung cancer. 

For more information for healthcare providers about the NLCSP, please visit the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s dedicated website.

This website also houses a toolkit for healthcare providers with information, education and resources to support you to prepare for the NLCSP.