Breast screening: who the free mammogram is for
Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian women, apart from non-melanoma skin cancer. Around 1 in 7 Australian women will develop it in their lifetime. Screening exists because the earlier a cancer is found, the better the chances of surviving it.
Who gets an invitation
BreastScreen Australia invites women aged 50 to 74 to have a free mammogram every two years. Women aged 40 to 49 and women aged 75 and over are also eligible for a free mammogram. They just do not get an invitation in the mail.
That distinction matters more than it sounds. Some people are waiting on a letter that was never going to come.
What a screening mammogram does
A screening mammogram is an x-ray of the breast. It looks for changes too small to see or feel, in women who have noticed nothing wrong.
The survival figures have moved a long way. For women diagnosed between 1985 and 1989, five-year relative survival from breast cancer was 75%. For women diagnosed between 2011 and 2015 it was 94%.
Results are posted out about two weeks after the appointment.
Screening is not the same as checking a symptom
Screening is for people who have noticed nothing wrong. If something has changed, that is a different conversation.
A lump, a change in the shape of a breast, dimpling of the skin, a change to the nipple or any discharge all need looking at sooner rather than later. Do not wait for your next screening round. Book in to see us.
The same applies if breast cancer runs in your family, or if you are younger than 40 and something is worrying you. Talk it through with us rather than assuming the screening program is the right fit.
How to book a screen
Screening appointments are booked directly with BreastScreen rather than through a GP referral. Call 13 20 50 or go to breastscreen.nsw.gov.au. There are more than 750 screening locations across Australia.
If you are not sure whether you are due, or whether a screen is the right step for you right now, raise it at your next visit and our team can go through it with you.
Source
BreastScreen Australia Program, Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, health.gov.au. "Breast cancer screening", Cancer Australia, page last updated 14 July 2026. "A guide to: Breast screening", Cancer Council Australia. All accessed 21 September 2026.
