Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The National Cancer Screening Register Amendment Bill 2024 amends the National Cancer Screening Register Act 2016 to add lung cancer as a third designated cancer to the coverage of the register. The National Cancer Screening Register is a national electronic infrastructure that currently supports the delivery of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and the National Cervical Screening Program. This bill will expand the register to include lung cancer screening along with bowel cancer and cervical screening programs. The new National Lung Cancer Screening Program was announced by the government last year and will allow screening to be available nationally to eligible individuals from July 2025. In line with advice from the Medical Services Advisory Committee, the NLCSP will target asymptomatic individuals aged 50 to 70 years who have a history of cigarette smoking.

The coalition supports this legislation and the establishment of a National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, as we strongly support the intention of the NLCSP to increase rates of early detection of lung cancer in Australians. This builds on the work of the coalition to support better lung cancer outcomes in Australia. On World Cancer Day in 2019 the coalition announced that we were inviting Cancer Australia to conduct an inquiry into the prospects, process and delivery of a National Lung Cancer Screening Program in Australia. Following this announcement, Cancer Australia launched a consultation hub, through which organisations and individuals can make submissions about the proposal.

The coalition provided our commitment to establishing a lung cancer screening program, pending the result of the inquiry and the approval of the medical expert panel. The National Lung Cancer Screening Program, which has now been announced by the government, is the culmination of our announcement back in 2019 and resulted from Cancer Australia's feasibility assessment, which reported back in May 2023, and a recommendation from the Medical Services Advisory Committee.

We welcome the government's decision to continue the important work we started, to establish a lung cancer screening program, and the fact that our commitment to this goal has now been realised. The coalition understood that early diagnosis is integral to improved lung cancer outcomes, including better survival rates and better quality of life. Early detection and intervention literally save lives.

In line with the coalition's intentions, the National Lung Cancer Screening Program will target high-risk individuals to detect lung cancer in its early stages to increase the likelihood of successful treatments and improve lung cancer outcomes. To facilitate the delivery of the program, the National Cancer Screening Register will be expanded, through this legislation, to support patients with their lung cancer screening pathway. The inclusion of the National Lung Cancer Screening Program is a welcome step in preventing and detecting lung cancer amongst Australians and ensuring better health outcomes. Once again: the coalition supports this bill.

Debate adjourned.