This Learning Hub supports healthcare providers to encourage participation in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program. Learn about this life-saving program and recent changes; barriers and enablers for people who are hesitant to screen; the continuum of care; and how to implement bowel screening into your practice.
The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program Learning Hub has been developed by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, in partnership with GPEx, to equip primary care professionals with the knowledge and tools to promote bowel cancer screening effectively.
Engaging with this Learning Hub will increase your:
We cater to different learning styles, with the opportunity to:
Asymptomatic people aged 45 to 74 should screen with the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
For people outside the ages of 45 to 74, clinical guidance does not recommend a ‘one-size-fits-all’ population-scale approach to screening. Instead, clinical guidance recommends health care professionals talk with patients to explain the benefits and potential harms of bowel screening in context of an individual’s health situation.
In 1997, the Australian Health Technology Advisory Committee reviewed the evidence on screening and recommended that Australia develop a program for population screening for colorectal cancer using faecal occult blood testing in the average-risk population.
A pilot study conducted between 2002 and 2004 tested the feasibility, acceptability, and cost-effectiveness of screening in Australia. And in 2006, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program was established to provide a mail out immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) to Australians turning 55 and 65 years.
From 2006 to 2020, the program underwent a phased rollout, expanding as health system capacity increased, with full implementation reached in 2020 when all eligible Australians aged 50 to 74 years were invited to screen every 2 years.
In September 2023 the National Health and Medical Research Council approved updates to the Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, early detection, and management of colorectal cancer. These updates were based on the latest scientific evidence and informed a recommendation to lower the entry age for population bowel cancer screening from age 50 to 45.
From 1 July 2024, people aged 45 to 49 became eligible to screen with the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program.
The key elements of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program are:
In line with the Australian Population Screening Framework, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program aims to reduce the incidence of, and mortality related to, bowel cancer in Australia. The early detection of cancerous and pre-cancerous adenomas allows treatment to occur when it is likely to be most successful. The program is informed by the latest Clinical practice guidelines for the prevention, early detection and management of colorectal cancer, which aims to provide information and recommendations to guide practice across the continuum of cancer care, including colorectal cancer prevention, screening and diagnosis.
Data collected by the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is used to ensure the progression of a participant along a clinically appropriate pathway and for the purpose of program monitoring, reporting, and evaluation. It also informs updates to the clinical practice guidelines.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) produces comprehensive program reports for the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, including annual monitoring reports, participation outcomes, operational reports and periodic outcome reporting on key performance indicators.
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