• About Pap tests or Pap smears
• Who should have Pap tests or Pap smears?
• Vaccinated women
• Pregnant women
• Older women
• After hysterectomy
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
• Culturally and linguistically diverse women
• Women with disabilities
• Lesbians
• Victim/survivors of sexual assault
• The human papillomavirus (HPV)
• The cervical cancer vaccine
• Abnormal Pap test (or Pap smear) results and treatment
• Cervical cancer

Who should have Pap tests or Pap smears?

A Pap test or Pap smear is a screening test for women without symptoms. If you have symptoms such as abnormal bleeding or discharge, always see your doctor, even if your last Pap test was normal.

PapScreen Victoria recommends that all women aged 18-70 who have ever been sexually active should have a Pap test every two years, or one to two years after first sexual activity, whichever is later.

Women who have never had genital-skin to genital-skin contact with anyone do not need Pap tests.

print this page

Email this page