Participant Portal User Guide

The National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) allows for a single electronic record for each person in Australia participating in cervical and bowel screening.

The intention of this guide is to assist users to communicate and interact with the NCSR through the Participant Portal.

The Participant Portal allows those with a myGov account to communicate with the NCSR in order to:

• View and update your demographic details that the NCSR has documented
• View your screening status, update your program details and participation, such as defer next screening and cease correspondence
• Nominate other people to assist you or receive reminders, including a healthcare provider (bowel and cervical program) or a personal representative (bowel program only)
• View and download previously sent program correspondence.
  

For further assistance, you can call the contact centre on 1800 627 701. The contact centre operates Monday to Friday, between 8am and 6pm in all Australian state and territory time zones.

1. Accessing the Participant Portal
2. Viewing Program Details
3. Adding or updating your personal details
4. Viewing messages (correspondence) from the NCSR
5. Contact Us
6. Glossary of Definitions
7. Next Screening Action Definitions
8. Appendix – guidance on verifying your identity documents

This section will guide you through accessing the Participant Portal for the first time.

Before you register for the Participant Portal for the first time, you will need a myGov account.

myGov is an online account that can allow you to access government services online with a login and a password. You can create a myGov account by going to my.gov.au and following the below steps:

1. Go to the myGov sign in page.
2. If you don’t have a myGov account, click Create an account and follow the steps to register. If you already have a myGov account, use your existing username and password to sign in.
3. Once you have signed in to myGov, click Services, then click the Link button for National Cancer Screening Register.

If you don’t already have an online account to the portal, you can register for one at any time.  

To link, you will need to link to your account and prove your identity as a security check. Please note this is a once-off process.

Select one of the following identifiers you would like to use to link to your myGov record with the National Cancer Screening Record:

• Medicare Card number
• Department of veterans Affair (DVA) file number
• Individual Health identifier (IHI) number

Also confirm you consent to these documents being confirmed with the document issuer or official record holder by a third-party. 

Select “Continue”.

Enter your personal details including Family name, Given Name, Date of birth and Sex.

Continue by entering the identifying details of the above identifiers.

Select “Continue”.

In order to confirm your identify with the NCSR, you will need identifying documentation as a security check.

Your documentation will be verified with The Australian Government's Document Verification Service (DVS). The NCSR will not keep any copies or details submitted when verifying your identity.

The documents that you may need to submit to the DVS in order to confirm your identity include;

• Medicare Card
• Australian Driver’s License
• Australian Passport
• ImmiCard (Immigration Card)
• Australian Birth Certificate
• Australian Citizenship certificate
• International Passport with Visa
• Marriage Certificate
• Name Change Document

Refer to the Appendix for guidance on verifying your identity document.

Once you select the first document you would like to submit, you will be asked to enter the document details.

Select “Verify”.

You will need to submit further documentation until your identify is verified.

Example: Australian Driver’s License

After all your documents have been verified, you will need to accept the Terms and Conditions.

Ensure all checkboxes are selected and click “Accept” after reading.

You will now be redirected to the NCSR Participant Portal home page. 

2.1 View your next test date and last test date

When you log into the NCSR Participant Portal, you will land on the “Program Details” page.  If eligible (Refer to Section 6 Glossary for details on Eligibility), you can select between the two programs, including the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) or the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) at the top of the page.

On the “Program Details” page you will be able to view your Last Screening and Next Screening information for the selected program.

The Last Screening will be the date that you completed your most recent test, or details about your current status in the program.

The Next Screening will show the next step for your participation in the selected screening program.

Refer to Section 8 for a full list of Next Screening Actions and definitions. 

On the Bowel tab, the following options may be available:

• Order Bowel Test Kit – If you are eligible, or require a replacement.
• Order a replacement Participant Details Form – A replacement form which will be mailed out and can be filled in and submitted along with the Bowel Test Kit.
• Opt Out – If you no longer want to participate in the Bowel Program, you can Opt Out of the program.
• Resume participation – This option is only visible if you have previously Opted out of the Bowel Program or have been excluded due to medical reasons, you can resume participation into the program to receive invitations and reminders.
• Defer – If you wish to delay your participation in the Bowel Program until a date in the future, you can Defer.

On the Cervical tab, the following options may be available:

• Opt Out – If you no longer want to participate in the Cervical Program, you can Opt Out of the program.
• Resume participation – This option is only visible if you have previously Opted out of the Cervical Program or have been excluded due to medical reasons, you can resume participation into the program to receive invitations and reminders.
• Defer – If you wish to delay your participation in the Cervical Program until a date in the future, you can Defer.
• Cease Correspondence – If you wish to no longer receive contact or correspondence from the Cervical Program, however would like to still be a part of the program.
• Resume Correspondence – If you wish to receive contact or correspondence from the Cervical Program after previously ceasing correspondence.

You can view two types of your personal details on the NCSR Participant Portal; Your Medicare Details, or your Program Details.

Medicare Details show the details that are stored with Medicare. The NCSR cannot update this information (including date of birth), however if you notice any updates required, please contact Medicare directly. 

My Details show the information the NCSR currently has stored against your record. This includes information such as your current contact information, if you have nominated a healthcare provider or personal representative to receive reminder correspondence, and any further information around your background. This information can be set per program, or across both.

Note: You can nominate a personal representative using the portal for the bowel program only. To nominate one for the cervical program, please call us on 1800 627 701.

3.1 Updating your address

To update your address which will be used to send correspondence from the NCSR:

1. Go to the program you wish to update (If you wish to update across both programs, at the bottom of each section you will be able to select “Update across both programs” before submission).
2. Click on “My Details”.
3. Go to “Participant Details” of details you wish to update, and click “Update”.

You will have the option to complete a lookup for the address under “Address Lookup”. If you cannot find your address, you can choose to click “tick to manually enter your address”, and type into the corresponding fields.

Once all required details have been selected, click “Review” to confirm the update, and then “Submit”.

To update your nominated provider:

1. Go to the program you wish to update (If you wish to update across both programs, at the bottom of each section you will be able to select “Update across both programs” before submission).
2. Click on “My Details”.
3. Go to “Nominated Provider” of details you wish to update, and click “Update”.
4. A lookup will be available for you to search for your healthcare provider. You can search for them using either their first or last name. Further details will be available in the lookup to confirm which provider you are selecting.
5. Once all required details have been selected, click “Review” to confirm the update, and then “Submit”.

If you wish to update any other personal details for the program, you will be able to do so by following the steps below:

1. Go to the program you wish to update (If you wish to update across both programs, at the bottom of  each section you will be able to select “Update across both programs” before submission).
2. Click on “My Details”.
3. Go to the type of details you wish to update, and click “Update”.
4. Update your details as required, and when completed, click “Review”.
5. Review the details, and if correct, click “Submit”.

The below screenshot relates to the type of details you can update in the Bowel Program

The below screenshot relates to the type of details you can update in the Cervical Program

You can view the correspondence that has been sent to you via mail, directly through the NCSR Participant Portal.

What you will be able to see is a table of all the correspondence sent you via the NCSR for each specific program, including the PDF version of letter received.  

If you wish to view these messages, you will be able to do so by following the below steps:

• Go to the program you wish to view the messages from.
• Click on “Messages”.

Review the list of letters, and click on “View” to view the pdf version of that letter (this document can also be downloaded by selecting the download option on your pdf viewer).

If you have any issues with the login process, or believe there is something incorrect with the information detailed on the NCSR Participant Portal, you can Contact Us in the following ways:

• Click the Contact Us link at the bottom of the page. This will open a new window to the NCSR website online enquiry form. Identify the request type and submit the form.
• Call our Contact Centre at 1800 627 701

All these details can be found in the footer of the NCSR Participant Portal as well.