From July 1, the National Cervical Screening Program will include the ability for women and people with a cervix to consult with their doctor about performing an at-home screening test.

According to the Cancer Institute NSW, most people who are diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer in Australia are under-screened or have never been screened.

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GP and director of the Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network Jodi Culbert said that medical practitioners are happy to see any change that may increase participation in cervical cancer screening.

"This is the next step and we're glad that it's been validated to be used across a broader range of people," she said.

"For people who have trouble accessing these services, whether it's because of previous past experiences or trauma, misinformation, or just people who traditionally have more trouble accessing medical services... hopefully this test will help."

In November, The Daily Advertiser spoke to Dr Culbert following reports that 50 per cent of all patients have been holding off their cervical screening tests due to the prevalence of COVID-19.

Even now, as the broader community learns to live with the virus, testing rates for several preventable diseases remain concerning low.

"The figures would show that there's been some return of people coming back to prioritise those preventative health tests now that there's a different focus on how COVID-19 has been managed in the community," Dr Culbert said.

"But, we know that they're still below what they should be, below what they would have been pre-COVID, so we've still got a long way to go in getting people back into their routine screenings."

While the changes to the National Cervical Screening Program seek to encourage more people to access routine screenings, it's important to note that at-home tests can only be accessed following a GP consultation.

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