1st July 2025 – a momentous date in lung cancer care for Australia.

The national lung cancer screening programme is now live!

And our colleagues at Lung Foundation Australia have made a major contribution to making it happen.

From their website:

National Lung Cancer Screening Program

Compared to most cancers, the survival rate of people living with lung cancer is poor, and little has improved over time. A lung cancer diagnosis in Australians usually occurs once the cancer has spread beyond the lungs. Generally, the later a patient is diagnosed, the poorer the survival rate is. Alongside passionate consumer advocates, Lung Foundation Australia led advocacy efforts for a National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP), with evidence showing an improvement in early diagnosis and saving over 12,000 lives.

What role has Lung Foundation Australia played in the program?

Lung Foundation Australia has played a key role in bringing the program to life. In 2019, Cancer Australia was tasked by the then Minister for Health to consider if a national lung cancer screening service would be possible. We submitted a report in support of a national screening program – which you can read here – and we launched the Lung Cancer Blueprint: The Next Breath recommending the Australian Government fund and implement a targeted national lung cancer screening program.

We have collaborated with the Australian Government and National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) to develop healthcare professional training and continue to make sure priority populations (including people living with disability or mental illness, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, people living in rural and remote communities or in the LGBTIQA+ communities) are able to access the program. We have also established the Lung Cancer Screening Consumer Committee to help guide the ongoing development of the program.

There’s still more to do.

We will continue to work with the Australian Government and other organisations to ensure this program supports Australians, equitable access to healthcare and better lung health.

Read more about the National Screening Programme and Lung Foundation Australia here.