National Lung Cancer Screening Program Guidelines Public Consultation

Overview

The National Lung Cancer Screening Program (program) is an Australian Government initiative being implemented in partnership with the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO).

From July 2025, high-risk people aged between 50 and 70 years with a history of cigarette smoking of at least 30 pack-years will be able to get a free low-dose CT scan using fixed and mobile screening infrastructure every two years unless a screen detected abnormality is found which may require an interval scan or other follow-up.  

The program aims to reduce illness and deaths from lung cancer by encouraging people at high-risk to participate in targeted routine lung cancer screening.

The program has been designed based on the Medical Services Advisory Committees (MSAC's) advice  outlined in the Public Summary Document Application No. 1699 – National Lung Cancer Screening Program.

For more information about the program please visit National Lung Cancer Screening Program | Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care.

The Australian Government, through Cancer Australia, commissioned the University of Melbourne, in a consortium with the Australian National University to develop National Lung Cancer Screening Program Guidelines.

Why your views matter

The draft National Lung Cancer Screening Program Guidelines (guidelines) are now available for public consultation. The guidelines will assist healthcare providers to navigate themselves and participants through each step of the program’s screening and assessment pathway. The guidelines also provide advice on promoting cultural safety, equity and the reduction stigmatising behaviour, and the provision of smoking cessation advice.  

The guidelines have been developed in consultation with experts, clinicians, researchers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and consumers.

The screening and assessment pathway outlines the set parameters of the program and is based on evidence and MSAC advice. Therefore, recommendations and guidance based on MSAC’s advice and program policy parameters are out-of-scope for public consultation. This includes the:

• program eligibility criteria
• screening and assessment pathway
• use of low-dose CT scans every 2 years
• use of Pancan nodule management protocol for baseline scans and LungRADS nodule management protocol for subsequent scans
• Program-specific MBS items for low-dose CT scans including the item descriptors.

The consultation draft includes drafting notes to guide stakeholders on aspects of the program that are currently in development and, where relevant, will be incorporated into the final version of the guidelines

Public consultation for the draft Program Guidelines is open to all individuals and organisations.

An offline copy of the public consultation survey questions is available in "Related" resources at the bottom of this page. This offline copy may assist organisations in collating input for their submission or directly email the responses to Cancer Australia