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A number of changes aimed at improving the quality, safety and effectiveness of the Programme took effect from 7 March 2005. The changes resulted from the passing of the Health (National Cervical Screening Programme) Amendment Act (2004). With the passage of the Act, the current section 74A of the Health Act was replaced with a new Part 4A.
A key purpose of the law change was to improve the operation and evaluation of the National Cervical Screening Programme (NCSP), to ensure its safety and effectiveness for women. The Act sets out objectives for the NCSP and provides for the appointment of experts (called Evaluators) to assess the performance and safety of the Programme by ensuring they have access to key information.