The Country Women’s Association in Tasmania is calling on the government to urgently restore the Breast Screen Tasmania mobile service to regional communities. With the screening bus offline for months, rural women face significant barriers to early detection and a critical gap in healthcare equity.
Media release – Lucy Murfet, North west Group President-Country Women’s Association in Tasmania (Inc.), 5 November 2025
Subject: Urgent Need to Restore the Breast Screen Tasmania Mobile Service
As a member of the Country Women’s Association in Tasmania (CWA Tasmania) and a resident of Devonport, I am writing to express my deep concern about the continued absence of the Breast Screen Tasmania mobile screening bus for Tasmania’s Eastern region.
While I thank the Tasmanian Government for reinstating breast screening subsidies and providing support for travel and accommodation as a temporary measure, for many Tasmanian women, particularly those living in rural and remote communities, mobile screening is not merely a convenience; it is a lifeline.
The offer of additional transport options is not a substitute for local accessible screening.
The absence of the bus has created serious barriers to early detection, adding cost, anxiety and hardship for women who already face long distances to access healthcare. Early detection saves lives and every month without a mobile service puts more women at risk.
Early detection, as we know, is critical
Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among Australian women, and screening every two years can reduce the risk by 41%.
The mobile unit was designed to reach our communities where fixed clinics are not accessible, ensuring an equity in healthcare.
Without this service, women of all ages in towns and communities like St Helens, Swansea, Coles Bay, Triabunna and Orford, face long travel times, missed appointments and delayed diagnoses.
I urge you to prioritise the repair and reinstatement of the Breast Screen bus as bureaucratic delays and delays with tenders, has left women vulnerable.
Repairing or fast-tracking a replacement bus is not just an urgent health issue, women in regional Tasmania deserve the same standard of care as those living in urban areas. The longer this service is offline, the greater the risk of late-stage diagnoses, more invasive treatments and preventable deaths.
The Government must act now;
- Immediately allocate additional funds to expediate the repair and
- Streamline the procurement process to avoid delays
- Engage with community advocates to ensure the continuation of screening services
Tasmanian women have waited long enough.
Prioritising the Breast screen bus is a positive way for the Government to demonstrate its commitment to women’s health, regional equity and responsible leadership of all Tasmanians.
Media release – Bridget Archer MHA, Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, 31 October 2025
Public Diagnostic Breast Care Centre construction underway
Works are now underway to deliver the new $15 million Public Diagnostic Breast Care Centre at the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Liverpool Clinics.
The Centre will be a comprehensive hub for public breast imaging services, offering both diagnostic breast imaging and screening under one roof.
Visiting the site on the final day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Minister for Health, Mental Health and Wellbeing, Bridger Archer, said the Centre will improve access and reduce wait times for both breast-screening and diagnostic breast-imaging services.
“This Liberal Government is delivering for Tasmania, cutting wait-times and reducing out-of-pocket costs for breast imaging, so more people get the care they need sooner,” Archer said.
“The Public Diagnostic Breast Care Centre will feature dedicated zones for BreastScreen Tasmania and Diagnostic Breast Imaging, including separate receptions, waiting areas and clinical spaces, plus additional amenities such as staff breakout rooms and meeting rooms.
“The facility is being designed as a welcoming and comfortable environment that prioritises patient privacy and a tranquil atmosphere, and it has been developed in close consultation with clinicians, health-service providers and consumer groups.
“Our public diagnostic-breast-imaging service already accepts referrals from within the Tasmanian Health Service and will further expand to accept GP referrals.”
In addition to BreastScreen Tasmania and Diagnostic Breast Imaging, other population screening programs, including bowel and cervical cancer screening, will be co-located in the new Centre.
Construction is expected to be completed in March 2026, followed by the transition of existing services from Argyle Street and Collins Street. The Centre at Liverpool Clinics is expected to open in April 2026.
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