Our program
BreastScreen Victoria is a population screening program, which means we offer our service to the eligible group in the community proven to benefit most from breast screening.
Breast screening is known to be most effective by reducing breast cancer deaths and the impact of treatment among women in the 50-74 age group.
Client first
At each of our 51 screening services, 8 reading and assessment services, 2 mobile screening vans and at the BreastScreen Coordination Unit—clients are at the heart of the work we do to reduce the impact of breast cancer and save lives through early detection.
Together, our people play a crucial role in making sure clients receive a high-quality service and feel supported at every step—from hearing about our service, to making a booking, getting a screen, and then right through to assessment.
BreastScreen Victoria is committed to ensuring our services are inclusive and accessible to all eligible Victorians. This means understanding and addressing the barriers that can stop certain communities from accessing breast screening.
We run targeted programs to increase breast screening in eligible people who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, culturally and linguistically diverse, sexuality and gender diverse, have a disability, from low socio-economic areas and from remote and rural areas.
Delivering this service is also made possible by our client contribution. We gather feedback through surveys, focus groups, behavioural research and meaningful conversations with ambassadors and consumer representatives.
Our impact
BreastScreen encourages clients to have a regular breast screen to detect breast cancer as early as possible, and to feel reassured about their breast health.
The uptake of the program has led to better health outcomes and a reduction of the disease in Victoria and across Australia.
How we work together
With the support of our wider community—BreastScreen Victoria’s Screening Services, Reading and Assessment Services and Coordination Unit all work together with a shared purpose to reduce the impact of breast cancer.
This work is enabled by a client first approach; the empowerment of our people to deliver high-quality care; partnership and collaboration with communities, partners and each other to make a collective impact; evidence and learning to inform our decisions and improve services; diversity and inclusion to create a safe and accessible environment for all Victorians; and technology to make sure we can work well together.
Our wider community—consumer representatives, community organisations, health professionals, government and media—help us to reach and understand our clients and their needs.
Our context
We are contracted by the Victorian Department of Health to deliver breast screening in Victoria as part of the national breast cancer screening program, BreastScreen Australia (BSA), funded jointly by the Australian State and Territory Governments.
As part of this agreement, BreastScreen Victoria supports and reports into the Victorian Cancer Screening Framework and the Victorian Cancer Plan 2021– 2024 (Screening and Early Detection).
BreastScreen services in Australia are quality assured and accredited under the BSA National Accreditation program, and the National Quality Management Committee oversees performance against the National Accreditation Standards.
We are committed to ongoing quality assurance through our Quality and Clinical Governance Framework.
The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) provides the full name, date of birth, and current address of Victorian women aged 50-74 years to BreastScreen Victoria. This information is provided so women can be invited to attend the BreastScreen Program and will only be used to invite women for screening. Please contact BreastScreen Victoria if you do not wish to receive any communication from us.