Policies and Standards

All BreastScreen Aotearoa facilities have to meet the BreastScreen Aotearoa National Policy and Quality Standards (NPQS).

These standards determine the minimum requirements for any service provider of BreastScreen Aotearoa (BSA) services, be they independent service providers, lead providers or subcontracted providers working within New Zealand's national breast screening programme, BreastScreen Aotearoa.

Breast screening has the potential to reduce premature mortality and morbidity from breast cancer, and to improve quality of life. However, it also has additional costs and the potential to harm. To minimise harm, the National Screening Unit requires each BSA provider to have systems in place to ensure their ongoing adherence to the NPQS. There is also an external audit process to enable verification of adherence to each of the standards.

Current version:

BreastScreen Aotearoa National Policy and Quality Standards 2013 (Revised November 2022) (pdf, 2.6 MB)

BreastScreen Aotearoa National Policy and Quality Standards 2013 (Revised November 2022) (doc, 1.4 MB)

Supplement – November 2022 NPQS Update (pdf, 232 KB)

Additional Policy and Quality Documents

The following documents cover further quality requirements for the BSA programme.

National Screening Unit Operational Policy Framework

BSA Data Management Manual

The Data Management Manual is currently being updated to align with the revised National Policy and Quality Standards.

Guidelines for Data Sharing

These guidelines provide information about data sharing between BreastScreen Aotearoa providers.

Ascertaining and reporting interval cancers in BreastScreen Aotearoa

This protocol outline the process for identifying and reporting interval cancers in BreastScreen Aotearoa.

Previous versions of BreastScreen Aotearoa National Policy and Standards

BreastScreen Aotearoa National Policy and Quality Standards 2013 (Revised September 2020) (pdf, 2.6 MB)

BreastScreen Aotearoa National Policy and Quality Standards 2013 (Revised September 2020) (doc, 1.4 MB)

Page last updated: 24 February 2022