Program Guidelines for the National Lung Cancer Screening Program - Targeted Lung Cancer Screening in High-Risk Individuals in Australia

Sep 23, 2026

Lung cancer is identified as the leading cause of cancer mortality in Australia, and the National Lung Cancer Screening Program was launched in July 2025 in line with Medical Services Advisory Committee recommendations. The article summarises program guidelines, specifying program parameters and delivery requirements through the screening and assessment pathway. The purpose is to support safe, effective, high-quality targeted low-dose CT screening, including eligibility assessment, participant enrolment, scan request completion, reporting, outcome and actionable findings management, and communication for participating healthcare providers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Main Recommendations

Program Eligibility and Delivery Elements

Medical Journal of Australia GUIDELINE SUMMARY OPEN ACCESS Program Guidelines for the National Lung Cancer Screening Program: Targeted Lung Cancer Screening in High-Risk Individuals in Australia Nicole M. Rankin1,2 | Rebecca Zosel1 | Lisa J. Whop3 | Raglan Maddox3 | Annette McWilliams4,5 | Miranda Siemienowicz6,7 | Jon Emery8 | Maria A. R. Lantin1 | Georgia Bartlett1 | Mikayla Wolfe3 | Abbey Diaz3 | Katrina Anderson9 | Lillian Liu9 | Cindy Toms9 | Sarah McDermott10 | Peter Bligh10 | Jeremy Chalke10 | Stephen Melsom11,12 | Claire E. Nightingale1 | Alison Brown1 | Sam Pope3,13 | Julia Brotherton1 | Anne Fidler14,15 | Michel Itel14,15 | Mark Brooke14 | Diane M. Pascoe16,17 | Fraser Brims18,19 | Tracy L. Leong20,21 | Emily Stone22,23 | Dorothy Keefe9 | Vivienne Milch9,24 1Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 2Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 3Yardhura Walani, National Centre for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing Research, Australian National University, Acton, Australian Capital Territory, Australia | 4Department of Respiratory Medicine, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia | 5School of Medicine, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia | 6Northern Imaging, Victoria Northern Health NCHER, Epping, Victoria, Australia | 7Central Clinical School, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 8Population and Global Health, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore | 9Cancer Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 10National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia | 11Department of Medical Imaging, Fiona Stanley Hospital, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia | 12Perth Radiological Clinic, Perth, Western Australia, Australia | 13Institute for Urban Indigenous Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | 14Lung Foundation Australia, Milton, Queensland, Australia | 15International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, Denver, Colorado, USA | 16Department of Medical Imaging, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 17Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | 18Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia | 19Department of Respiratory Medicine, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia | 20Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Austin Health, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia | 21Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia | 22Department of Thoracic Medicine and Lung Transplantation, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia | 23School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | 24Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia Correspondence: Nicole M. Rankin ([nicole.rankin@unimelb.edu.au](nicole.rankin@unimelb.edu.au)) Received: 17 November 2025 | Revised: 20 May 2026 | Accepted: 31 May 2026 Keywords: cancer | early detection of cancer | mass screening | population health | population policy | prevention and control | primary care | public health | public policy | respiratory tract neoplasms ABSTRACT Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in Australia. In July 2025, the Australian Government launched the National Lung Cancer Screening Program (the Program) . The Program has been designed in accordance with the Medical Services Advisory Committee's recommendations. This article summarises the program guidelines, outlining Program parameters and delivery

FAQs

What is the goal of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program guidelines?

The guidelines aim to ensure safe, effective, and high-quality program delivery by defining program parameters and delivery requirements across the screening and assessment pathway.

Who is targeted for screening under the program eligibility criteria?

Eligibility is assessed using risk-based criteria targeting people aged 50 to 70 with a history of tobacco cigarette smoking.

What are the key clinical steps highlighted in the guidelines?

The document outlines assessing eligibility, enrolling participants in the National Cancer Screening Register, completing low-dose CT scan requests, assessing and reporting scan results, managing actionable additional findings, and communicating outcomes to participating healthcare providers.

Sep 23, 2026

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