The DoHDA is seeking a provider for the bowel, cervical and lung cancer screening register, with the contract offering up to nine years from 1 July 2027.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing has launched an open tender for Australia’s National Cancer Screening Register, putting Telstra Health’s current $446 million contract back into competition ahead of its scheduled expiry next year.
The request for tender, released on 29 June, seeks a provider to deliver the next generation of the National Cancer Screening Register, which supports the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, National Cervical Screening Program and National Lung Cancer Screening Program.
According to the tender documents, the procurement aims to ensure the “continued delivery of the NCSR services after expiry of the current agreement with the relevant service provider”.
AusTender records show Telstra Health is the incumbent provider under a contract valued at $445.75 million, which started on 1 July 2021 and is due to expire on 30 June 2027.
The department is conducting the procurement through an open Request for Tender, allowing the market to compete for the contract rather than limiting the process to invited suppliers.
In a statement to HSD on Wednesday, Telstra Health said it would not comment as “this matter is now subject to an active procurement process”.
Similarly the DoHDA said it would not comment beyond saying “any supplier that satisfies the conditions for participation and meets all mandatory requirements may submit a tender”.
Under the tender, the successful provider will be responsible for operating the national register, participant communications, healthcare provider support, call centre services, ICT operations, data migration, interoperability, cyber security and ongoing service improvements.
The department says it is seeking “an outcomes-based arrangement” covering operational services, technology and support functions across all three national cancer screening programs.
The contract will have an initial term of three years, with “the potential for up to two more three-year extensions”, allowing the agreement to run for as long as nine years.
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Tenders close at 2pm (AEST) on 28 August, with an industry briefing scheduled for 13 July.
The indicative procurement timetable provides for negotiations with preferred tenderers between November 2026 and March 2027 before implementation and transition activities begin ahead of the expiry of the current contract.
The department has not disclosed an estimated value for the new contract.
Tender responses will be assessed on a value-for-money basis, with technical capability accounting for 70% of the weighted evaluation and organisational suitability making up the remaining 30%.
Pricing is unweighted but will be considered across the whole-of-life cost of each proposal.
Read the tender documents here.
Updated 3.45pm Wednesday 1 July 2026.