What Happens at a Cervical Screening Test? (And How It’s Different From a Pap Smear)
How Australia’s Cervical Screening Test differs from a Pap smear, the two collection options, and what happens with your results.
If you’re picturing a Pap smear, you’re thinking of the old test. Australia moved to the Cervical Screening Test back in December 2017, and the change was bigger than a new name: it’s a different test, looking for a different thing, done far less often than most people remember. On top of that, there’s now a second, less invasive way to do it that a lot of people still don’t know exists.
If you’ve been putting off booking because you’re picturing an old experience, here’s what’s actually involved now.
What’s the difference between a Pap smear and a Cervical Screening Test?
A Pap smear looked directly at cervical cells under a microscope for early signs of abnormality. The Cervical Screening Test instead checks for HPV (human papillomavirus): the common infection responsible for almost all cervical cancers. Testing for the underlying cause rather than waiting for cell changes to appear is a big part of why the newer test is done less frequently: every five years, instead of every two.
How often do you actually need one?
If your last result was normal, you’re generally due again in five years: not every two, as the old Pap smear schedule required.
The test is recommended for women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 74 who have ever been sexually active. If it’s been a while and you’re honestly not sure when you’re due, that’s a reasonable thing to ask your GP rather than work out yourself.
What actually happens at the appointment
You now have two ways to do this test, and you can talk to your doctor about which suits you.
Self-collection. You’re given a thin swab, instructions, and privacy: usually behind a screen or in a separate room: to collect your own sample. It involves inserting the swab into the vagina and gently rotating it for around 10 to 30 seconds. There’s no need to reach the cervix, and no speculum is involved. It shouldn’t hurt, though it can feel a little strange or uncomfortable, the way inserting a tampon might for some people.
Clinician-collected. If you’d prefer, a doctor or nurse can do the test for you in the more familiar way, using a speculum to take a small sample of cells from the cervix.
Both methods are equally accurate at detecting HPV. Neither is a ‘better’ or more thorough option medically: the right one is simply whichever you’re more comfortable with.
Does it hurt?
For most people, no: though self-collection can feel briefly unusual if you’ve never done anything similar before, and a speculum exam can feel like pressure or mild discomfort rather than pain. If you’ve found this test painful in the past, or you’re anxious about it, it’s worth mentioning that to your doctor beforehand. There are things they can do to make it more comfortable, and you’re entitled to stop at any point.
Is self-collection right for everyone?
Not quite everyone. If you have symptoms such as unusual bleeding, discharge or pelvic pain, self-collection generally isn’t the appropriate starting point: those symptoms need a proper clinical assessment rather than a routine screening test. Your doctor can talk you through this if it applies to you.
What happens with your results
Most people who screen will get a straightforward result: no HPV detected, and a five-year wait until the next test. If HPV is detected, what happens next depends on the specific type found: sometimes that means a repeat test sooner, and sometimes it means a clinician-collected sample is needed to look more closely at the cervix directly. None of this means cancer. HPV is extremely common, and most infections clear up on their own without ever causing a problem. The test exists to catch the small number of cases where it doesn’t.
If you’ve never screened, or it’s been years
You’re far from alone. Participation across Australia currently sits around half of those eligible, and it’s lower again for people in regional areas and for those who’ve never screened before. If it’s been a long time, or you’ve never had this test, that’s not a reason to feel behind: it’s exactly the situation this test is designed to catch early. Booking now matters more than any explanation for the delay.
Whether you’d feel more comfortable with self-collection or the more familiar clinician-collected option, a GP can talk you through both and let you choose what actually works for you.