The Government has announced cervical screening will be free for all eligible women aged 25 to 69, from 1 March 2027.
Cervical cancer is one of the most preventable cancers. Almost every case is caused by HPV, a common virus, which the screening test detects long before any cancer develops. When cervical cancer is found early, around 91% of women survive. Once it has spread, survival falls to around 19%.
Until now, around 55% of Kiwi women who are eligible for cervical screening have to pay for the appointment, which can cost anywhere from $35 to more than $100. That cost can be a barrier, including for younger women, who have the lowest screening rates of any age group, said Women’s Minister, Nicola Grigg.
“From 1 March 2027, an estimated 786,000 additional women will be eligible for free cervical screening,” said Ms Grigg.
Cervical screening is currently free for Māori and Pacific women aged 25 to 69, Community Services Card holders, and women who have never been screened or are overdue.
Successive Parliamentary Reviews since 2018 have recommended making cervical screening free for all women eligible for the screening programme.
“Making cervical screening free for all women builds on our other commitments to screening, extending free breast screening to women up to age 74 and lowering the bowel screening age from 60 to 56. The goal is the same every time, and that’s to find cancer earlier, treat it sooner, and save more lives,” said the Minister.
Tthe Government has also released the New Zealand Cervical Cancer Elimination Plan 2026 to 2040.
“This Plan sets out a clear goal for eliminating cervical cancer in New Zealand. Not managing the disease, not reducing it, but eliminating it,” Ms Grigg says.
“We can set that goal because we already have the tools. A vaccine that prevents the virus behind almost every case, a test that picks it up early, and treatment that works when it is caught in time.
“Making screening free is part of that. But elimination needs action across the whole system, from vaccinating young people through to making sure care follows quickly when a test finds something.”
The Plan commits New Zealand to reducing cervical cancer to fewer than four cases per 100,000 women a year, across every population group, by 2040.
By 2030, it sets national targets for:
- 80% of women to be up to date with cervical screening;
- 80% of women referred for a colposcopy to be seen within 30 working days;
- 90% of women with high-grade pre-cancerous changes to be treated within 40 working days;
- 90% of women with cervical cancer to start treatment within 31 days of the decision to treat.
By 2035, the Plan also targets 90% of young people having had their first HPV vaccine dose by age 15. Currently, the rate sits at 69%.
“Targets focus the system on what matters. That is how our Government has reduced wait times across health, and it is how we will drive progress towards eliminating cervical cancer,” Ms Grigg says.
“Today is a good day for women, but screening only saves lives if it’s taken up. So my message to every woman who is overdue is simple. Please don’t delay – talk to your healthcare provider today.”
