The federal Department of Health says the renewal of the cervical screening program and the accompanying roll-out of the National Cancer Screening Register (NCSR) are on track for the revised commencement date of December 1, denying claims that the register won't be ready in time.

Pulse+IT sources say an essential element of the register – the ability to send medical histories to cervical screening labs – will not be ready in the first phase, and data from the existing state and territory registers will also not be fully migrated.

However, a spokeswoman for the department said the cervical renewal and the NCSR will commence on December 1, with MBS claim items and fees to support the new testing regime also in place.