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Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a common malignancy in New Zealand, and there is increasing pressure on investigative resources for diagnosis. The national direct access referral guidelines from the Ministry of Health (MoH) guide who should be referred for investigation, but their performance in detecting CRC and other significant diseases has not been reported previously. This paper describes the yield, by direct access criterion, of all referrals through the direct access pathway to the Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) during 2018.First referrals received through the direct access colonoscopy/computed tomography colonography (CTC) pathway for 2018 were audited. Patients were assigned to symptom groups corresponding to the MoH direct access criteria, and demographic data were captured. Diagnostic outcomes were collected through analysis of all endoscopy, CT colonography and histology reports in the 18 months following referral for primary analysis, with further follow-up through to May 2021 to detect missed pathology.Three thousand two hundred referrals were analysed, and 88.5% underwent colorectal investigation. 128 CRC were diagnosed, 176 advanced polyps, 49 cases of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and there were 56 other significant findings. The yield by category for the direct access criteria varied between 0-15.0%, and one urgent criterion had a CRC yield lower than two semi-urgent categories. For patients whose symptoms met at least one of the criteria, excluding those referred with suspected IBD, the combined CRC yield was 4.9%, compared with 1.8% in those who did not meet criteria. The sensitivity and specificity of the criteria for CRC (excluding IBD) was 90% and 23% respectively. There were no CRC detected during the extended follow-up period.In this referred population, the MoH direct access colonoscopy/CTC criteria varied significantly in their CRC yield, with an arbitrary distinction between urgent and semi-urgent categories. The low specificity of the criteria means the number needed to investigate to detect one CRC was one in 22. Improved diagnostic algorithms are urgently required to improve both the sensitivity and specificity, thereby more appropriately allocating finite resources to those patients who are most in need of investigation.