Sudden, severe pain in the belly or back in an older person is an emergency, not an appointment: call 000. For health advice, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222.
What gets added in the years ahead
Each line is a test; each dot is an appointment. Scroll and your age goes up: see what starts and stops at each birthday.
Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), every 2 years (ask for the first kit; later ones come by post)
Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, every 5 years
At 50
Breast screening (mammogram), every 2 years
Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), every 2 years
At 75
Stops: Cervical screening
Stops: Breast screening (mammogram)
Stops: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit)
At 80
Stops: Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk
After 74–75 most screening is no longer recommended routinely, because its benefit takes years to arrive. Whether to continue is a decision with your doctor, based on your health and wishes.
What each test is worth
The same question for each: per 1,000 people, how many deaths from the disease does the test prevent? Some numbers come from trials (people invited, or randomly assigned to the test), others from a model that assumes people always attend; each has its own time span, written beside it. For osteoporosis the number is hip fractures, not deaths. So the tests are not ranked on one scale.
Each small square is a person; there are 10,000.
Cervical screening
25–74, every 5 years
High-risk types of HPV, which over years can turn cells of the cervix into cancer. A positive test leads to a check of the cells and, if needed, a colposcopy, where changes are found before they become cancer.
8per 1,000
cervical cancer deaths avoided per 1,000 women with an HPV test every 5 years from 30 to 65, compared with none: from 8.34 to 0.29 (modelled estimate, US)
modelled estimate
What the evidence says
An HPV test every 5 years from 25 to 74; since July 2022 anyone eligible can collect their own sample.
18–39, every 3 years (or every 5 years if normal); from 40, every year
High blood pressure, which causes no symptoms and raises the risk of heart attack and stroke.
no death count for the test
No trial compares people whose blood pressure was measured with people whose was not. The benefit comes from treatment, which clearly cuts heart attacks and strokes.
What the evidence says
Measured from 18: every 3–5 years up to 40 if normal, then every year (US guidance, USPSTF). A Medicare Heart Health Check is available once a year from 45 (from 30 for First Nations people).
from 40, every 3 years (a risk questionnaire (AUSDRISK))
Type 2 diabetes and prediabetes, which can go years without signs.
no death count for the test
Screening trials found no fewer deaths over 10 years. The test is worth it if something changes afterwards: diet, activity, treatment.
What the evidence says
From 40, a diabetes risk check (AUSDRISK) every 3 years, with a blood test if the risk is high; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a yearly glucose test from 18.
from 18, once, if never done (if you may have been at risk)
Viruses that damage the liver silently for decades, up to cirrhosis or cancer. Hepatitis C is now cured with tablets in 8–12 weeks.
no death count for the test
No death count has been measured for the test itself. The benefit comes from treatment: hepatitis C is cured in over 95% of people treated.
What the evidence says
No general programme; testing is for people who may have been at risk, including people born in a country where hepatitis B is common, as in much of Eastern Europe.
45–49, every 2 years (ask for the first kit; later ones come by post); 50–74, every 2 years
Invisible traces of blood in stool, a sign of polyps and bowel cancer. A positive test leads to a colonoscopy, where polyps can be removed there and then.
If a parent, brother, sister or child had bowel cancer, don't wait for the programme: colonoscopy starts at 40, or 10 years before the age your relative was diagnosed, whichever comes first. Tell your doctor.
24–28per 1,000
bowel cancer deaths avoided per 1,000 people screened from 45 to 75, modelled estimate (US)
modelled estimate
The model assumes a FIT every year (or a colonoscopy every 10 years) from 45. The Australian programme, every 2 years from 50 (45 on request), prevents somewhat fewer deaths.
What the evidence says
A free home stool test (FIT) every 2 years: mailed automatically from 50 to 74; people aged 45–49 can ask for one. About 42% took part in 2023–24.
Your chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next 10 years, worked out from cholesterol, blood pressure, age and smoking.
no death count for the test
The benefit comes from treatment: in 18 trials of adults with no previous heart attack or stroke, statins meant about 3.5 fewer deaths per 1,000 people treated, over 6 months to 6 years.
What the evidence says
The Australian guideline assesses cardiovascular risk from 45 to 79, with cholesterol checked every 5 years from 45; for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, from 35.
Lung cancer at a stage when it can still be operated on.
3per 1,000
lung cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 heavy smokers scanned yearly, over about 7 years, compared with chest X-ray (NLST)
measured in a trial
Nearly a quarter of scans come back positive at first; almost all turn out to be false alarms.
What the evidence says
National Lung Cancer Screening Program, since 1 July 2025: low-dose CT for people aged 50–70 with no symptoms, at least 30 pack-years, still smoking or quit within the last 10 years.
A swelling of the main artery in the abdomen that causes no pain and no signs until it bursts.
4.6per 1,000
aneurysm deaths prevented per 1,000 men invited to one scan, over 13 years (MASS trial)
measured in a trial
In December 1948 the surgeon Rudolph Nissen opened Albert Einstein's abdomen in Brooklyn and found a large aneurysm on the aorta. There was no way to replace it, so he wrapped it in cellophane to stiffen it. Einstein lived six more years. In April 1955 the aneurysm burst; he refused surgery and died on 18 April. Today the same swelling shows up on a scan that takes a few minutes.
What the evidence says
No screening programme in Australia.
How to get it
Men over 65 who have smoked can ask their GP; Medicare may not cover a scan without symptoms.
PSA test for prostate cancer
50–69, every 2 years (if you choose to be tested)
Prostate cancer, including many small tumours that would never have caused harm.
If your father or brother had prostate cancer, or you are of African descent, the PSA conversation starts at 45; with a BRCA2 mutation, at 40 (European urology guideline, EAU).
2.2per 1,000
prostate cancer deaths prevented per 1,000 men aged 55–69 invited to PSA testing, over 23 years (ERSPC)
measured in a trial
More than 45% of men tested at every round had at least one false positive over 10 years, and 20–50% of the cancers found would never have caused harm.
What the evidence says
No population programme. The 2026 Australian guideline says men who choose testing should be offered a PSA test every 2 years from 50 to 69, from 45 for men at higher risk, and on request for worried men aged 45–49.
Private clinics sell 'complete' check-ups. The tests below often appear in them and have no evidence of saving lives in people without symptoms and at average risk; some cause harm. Symptoms need a doctor, not a screening list.
Tumour markers (CEA, CA-125, CA 19-9, CA 15-3, AFP) without symptoms
In two large trials of CA-125, women who were tested were no less likely to die of ovarian cancer. Between 1% and 3% had surgery without having cancer, and up to 15% of those had serious complications.
In South Korea, once thyroid ultrasound was added to routine checks, thyroid cancer diagnoses rose fifteenfold in 18 years while deaths stayed flat. Of those operated on, 11% were left with damaged parathyroid glands.
The US Food and Drug Administration says it knows of no evidence that whole-body scanning of people without symptoms does more good than harm. It finds 'something' in many people, and each finding leads to more tests.
A Cochrane review of 17 trials with over 230,000 people found no difference in deaths between people invited to general health checks and those who were not. What matters is the tests that fit your age, not how many.
Free national programmes: a home bowel test every 2 years from 50 to 74 (on request from 45); a mammogram every 2 years from 50 to 74 at BreastScreen; cervical screening every 5 years from 25 to 74, including self-collection; lung CT for eligible heavy smokers aged 50–70. GP visits are free where the practice bulk-bills.
Which checks should you have at 40?
Women: Cervical screening, Blood pressure, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. Men: Blood pressure, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test.
Which screening should you have from 50?
Women: Cervical screening, Breast screening (mammogram), Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. Men: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. A PSA test is a decision to make with your GP. Heavy smokers aged 50–70 can ask their GP about the National Lung Cancer Screening Program.
Which screening should you have from 65?
Women: Cervical screening, Breast screening (mammogram), Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. Men: Bowel cancer screening (FIT kit), Blood pressure, Cholesterol and 10-year heart and stroke risk, Blood sugar test for diabetes, Hepatitis B and C, one-time test, HIV, one-time test. A PSA test is a decision to make with your GP. Heavy smokers aged 50–70 can ask their GP about the National Lung Cancer Screening Program.
Is a private full check-up worth it?
Usually not. A Cochrane review of 17 trials found general health checks made no difference to deaths. Tumour markers and whole-body scans in people without symptoms raise many false alarms. What matters is the screening that fits your age.
The evidence column follows Australia's national screening programmes, RACGP guidance and the Heart Foundation; for the size of each benefit, the randomised trials and the US Preventive Services Task Force evidence reviews. Where Australia has no programme, the page says so.
Lives saved are absolute: deaths avoided per 1,000 people, not '42% fewer'. Some come from trials (people invited, followed for a fixed number of years), others from models that assume you take every test for life. They are labelled separately and not ranked.
This page does not replace your GP. With symptoms, a family history of cancer or a long-term condition, your list is different and is made with them.
Why the ages change
Screening ages move when the evidence moves, and lately they have moved down because some diseases now appear earlier: in 2021 the US lowered bowel screening from 50 to 45 as bowel cancer rose in younger adults, and diabetes testing from 40 to 35; Spain and Austria widened their programmes in 2025–2026. Every rule here was checked in September 2026. Screening finds disease early; it does not prevent it. The other half stays the same: not smoking, a healthy weight, moving more and drinking less.
Sources
Every rule and number on the page, with its source. Checked on 27 September 2026.