Bowel cancer screening

Bowel screening is a national programme available in Aotearoa New Zealand for all people 60 to 74 years of age, and for some younger people. It involves sending a small sample of poo (faeces) to be tested in a laboratory for signs that there may be something wrong with your bowel. Results are sent back and if there is any concern about your bowel health it can be followed up by your healthcare provider. 

Note that the bowel screening programme is for people who have no symptoms of bowel cancer. If you have a change in your normal bowel habit that lasts for several weeks or blood in your bowel motion (poo), see a healthcare provider as soon as you can. 

The test is called a Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT).

Aotearoa New Zealand has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world. More than 3000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with bowel cancer each year and more than 1200 die from it.

Bowel cancer occurs when normal cells on the inside of your bowel become abnormal and grow out of control. These cells can turn into a polyp (growth) and some polyps may grow into a cancer over time. There may be no warning signs of bowel cancer in the early stages.

Regular bowel screening of people who don't have any symptoms of bowel cancer provides an opportunity to find bowel cancer early. This means it can be treated sooner and the long-term outcome is likely to be better.

Find out more about bowel cancer symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment.

Bowel screening is for people who don’t have any symptoms of bowel cancer. If you have any bowel symptoms that concern you, talk to your healthcare provider straight away.

Screening is offered to people who are in the age groups most likely to have bowel cancer or have an advanced polyp that can be followed up and confirmed with a colonoscopy.

For everyone

Until recently, the screening programme was for people from 60 to 74 years of age. However, the age range is being extended to include people from 58 years of age. This extended programme is being rolled out gradually. From 6 October 2025, people in Northland, Auckland and the South Island regions of Aotearoa New Zealand are eligible. Your invitation to take part is sent out around the time of your birthday. So if you’re in one of these regions and you’re currently 57 or 58, a kit will be sent out by post when you turn 58 or 59. If you’re currently 59 years of age, you’ll receive your kit when you turn 60 as part of the existing programme.

All regions across Aotearoa New Zealand will gradually be included from March 2026. 

For Māori and Pacific Peoples

Because Māori and Pacific Peoples are more likely to get bowel cancer at an earlier age than others in Aotearoa New Zealand, the screening programme has been piloted in 3 regions for people from the age of 50. The lower starting age for screening will become available across Aotearoa New Zealand over time, but has initially been trialled in Waikato, Midcentral and Tairāwhiti. If you’re part of this pilot, you can be screened every 2 years until you turn 75 so long as you’re still eligible and continue to live in 1 of these regions. 

So that your medical history (eg, hospital admissions, screening tests) is correctly linked to you, each person is allocated a National Health Index (NHI) number which also includes your age and ethnicity. If your ethnicity is not recorded (or is incorrect) you’ll need to talk to your healthcare provider to get it updated in order to receive your screening invitation once you become eligible.

Can I read more about eligibility or talk to someone?

Yes, you can read more about checking if you’re eligible for bowel screening(external link) or you can call 0800 924 432.

• When it's your turn to be screened, you'll receive a letter inviting you to take part. You will also be sent a kit that allows you to collect a faecal (poo) sample at home. It includes a tube that you send back in a freepost envelope with your poo sample inside. You can also drop it in to your local laboratory – lab locations will be listed in your screening pack.
• The sample will be tested in a laboratory for the presence of tiny amounts of blood that you can’t see when you look at it. If blood is found it may be an early warning sign that something is wrong with your bowel.
• If there are any concerns with your sample, you will be notified and booked in to have a colonoscopy to see if there are any polyps or other signs of bowel cancer.
• A colonoscopy is a test to look at the lining of your bowel using a colonoscope – a long, soft flexible tube containing a tiny video camera and a light. It is normally a safe procedure and complications are unusual. If you have any concerns, talk to your healthcare provider.

Video: How to do the bowel screening test

 The “How to do the bowel screening test" is available to view in 11 languages:

• English(external link)
• Te reo Māori(external link)
• Samoan(external link)
• Tongan(external link)
• Cook Islands Māori(external link)
• Fijian(external link)
• Kiribati(external link)
• Niuean(external link)
• Rotuman(external link)
• Tuvaluan(external link)
• Tokelaun(external link)

If your FIT result is negative (blood wasn't found in your poo sample) you and your healthcare provider will be told, and you will be sent another test kit in 2 years. If your FIT result is positive (blood was found in your poo sample) your healthcare provider should contact you and arrange for you to be referred for further investigation. This will usually be a colonoscopy where they can have a look at the lower part of your bowel. Read more about colonoscopy.

Notes

• If you get a positive result – it doesn't always mean you have cancer. There are other reasons why blood may be found in your poo, such as polyps, haemorrhoids (piles) or an inflamed bowel. Out of 100 positive results about 7 people will have bowel cancer and 70 will have polyps. When polyps are removed during a colonoscopy it prevents cancer developing at a later time.
• If you get a negative result – it's still possible you may have bowel cancer because not all cancers bleed or bleed all the time. So even if your test result was negative, if you have any unusual bowel symptoms see your healthcare provider. 

Resources for clinicians on the national bowel screening programme

National bowel screening programme for health professionals(external link) National Screening Unit, NZ, updated 2025
Quick reference guide for primary healthcare teams(external link) Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, NZ, updated 2025
National bowel screening programme(external link) Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora, NZ

Guidelines for colorectal/bowel cancer

• Referral of patients with features suggestive of bowel cancer – Ministry of Health guidance(external link)(external link) BPAC, NZ, 2020
• Management of early colorectal cancer(external link)(external link) NZ Guidelines Group, 2011

Continuing professional development

Video: Goodfellow Unit: Internal medicine day – bowel screening (18:06 mins)

(The Goodfellow Unit, NZ, 2018)