Dental Health Care

Issue

Information on the Australian Government’s role and contributions to dental health care in Australia.

Response

The Australian Government understands the importance of timely access to affordable, high quality oral health care for all Australians and particularly for low income earners and disadvantaged people. The Government knows that many low income Australians miss out on access to dental care and a number of those missing out are children.

On 29 August 2012 the Government announced a landmark $4.1 billion Dental Reform package. This package will build a fairer dental system.

The package includes:

$2.7 billion for Grow Up Smiling, a children’s dental scheme that will start on 1 January 2014;
$1.3 billion for states and territories from 1 July 2014 to expand services for adults in the public system; and
a $225 million Flexible Grants Program beginning in 2014 to provide dental infrastructure (both capital and workforce) in outer metropolitan, rural and regional areas.

This package builds on the $515.3 million investment in dental health made in the 2012-13 Budget. The 2012-13 initiatives include a blitz on public dental waiting lists which will begin as soon as the state and territory governments have signed the agreement for additional funding. Under the agreement, states and territories will continue to remain responsible for the actual delivery of public dental services to Pensioner Concession Card and Health Care Card holders.

Information about dental services in each state or territory is available from:

Victoria - 1800 833 039
Tasmania - 1300 135 513
Queensland - 07 3131 6822
Northern Territory - 08 8999 2400
New South Wales - 02 9391 9000
Australian Capital Territory - 132 281
South Australia - 08 8222 8222
Western Australia - 08 9313 0555

The 2012-13 Budget also included increased oral health promotion activities, a boost to the dental workforce and improved dental facilities in rural and remote areas.

These initiatives improve access to dental care for those who need it most and build a better dental health system for the future. Grow Up Smiling will mean that for 3.4 million children, going to the dentist will be just like going to the doctor.

These new dental measures will replace the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme, which closed on 30 November 2012, and the Medicare Teen Dental Plan, which will close on 31 December 2013.

These changes to dental services strike a balance between investing around $1.6 billion in services for low income adults and a new investment in the dental health of children.