2 May 2025

The National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) rolls out from July 2025. Just this week, the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care released a range of new NLCSP resources to assist both healthcare workers and patients.

These include:  

• Resources for the health sector to facilitate a participants’ entire screening journey: Program Guidelines, Nodule Management Protocol, information about preparing to offer the program, determining eligibility, starting conversations with potential participants, providing support for participants, and answers to frequently asked questions.
• Resources for participants and the general public with information about what the program is, eligibility, the low-dose CT scan, how to understand their results and answers to frequently asked questions.
• A link to resources for the radiology sector to help deliver the program. These were developed by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.
• A link to the Lung Foundation Australia Lung Learning Hub containing the NLCSP eLearning modules.

The Department of Health and Aged Care plans to upload further resources in coming weeks.

What is the National Lung Cancer Screening Program?

The NLCSP targets people who have a high risk of lung cancer, but are not experiencing symptoms. People aged between 50-70 years will be eligible for screening if they have a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years*, and either continued to smoke or quit smoking within the past 10 years.

*One pack-year means smoking at least 20 cigarettes a day for one year.

As an implementation partner, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) has led the co-design of the program. This is to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receive culturally safe and appropriate screening.

The Australian NLCSP and its associated Registry will be one of the first of its kind worldwide.

ASMIRT members with questions about the program are welcome to contact ASMIRT's Diagnostic Imaging Project Officer, Alan Malbon (Alan.Malbon@asmirt.org).