News

State Election Media Release

ELECTION DENTAL PLEDGES WELCOME, BUT THOSE IN GREATEST NEED MUST COME FIRST

The Australian Dental Association Victoria Branch welcomes the commitments the Labor, the Liberal and National, and the Greens parties have each made to improve access to dental care. After years in which public dental funding has not kept pace with need, this recognition is a genuine step forward.

Victoria’s public dental system by the numbers 2.4+ million eligible Victorians 1 in 6 eligible Victorians seen annually 82,000+ on public dental waiting lists 15.1 months average wait, up 10.8% in six months Almost 3 years: the longest regional wait (Bairnsdale)

PRIORITIES FOR A FAIR ORAL HEALTH SYSTEM:

1. Reduce the cost of providing care: a payroll tax exemption for dental practices, matching relief proposed for general practitioners and allied health.
2. Support the public sector workforce: pay specialist dentists in training (registrar dentists), pay parity with interstate public dentists, and regional relocation subsidies paired with retention strategies.
3. Reduce public dental waiting times: modernising Dental Voucher Schemes to make better use of local independent and private infrastructure and services.
4. Strengthen prevention: making oral health a funded pillar of preventive health policy, anchored in extended water fluoridation.

 

Dr Carolyn Ng, ADAVB President said:

"It’s encouraging to see every major party put commitments on the table that could improve Victorians’ access to dental care. The test for each commitment is whether it reaches the people with the greatest need first, and whether there is a realistic and sustainable plan to staff it."

 

ADAVB seeks clarity from each party about its pledges, set out below. In addition, ADAVB invites all parties to respond to the priorities for a fair oral health system that they have not yet addressed, as shown in the comparison that follows.

Two outstanding low-cost priorities for a fair oral health system:

 

Labor

Labor has committed $460 million over three years for 20 free, walk-in dental clinics. The clinics would treat more than 100,000 people a year, with urgent cases seen first. Fourteen clinics would be in Melbourne and six in regional centres. Labor has also committed $12.9 million for workforce recruitment, training and regional relocation support, and $5 million for sign-on bonuses for dentists entering the public sector: $20,000 in Melbourne and $30,000 in regional Victoria.

ADAVB welcomes a structural and ongoing investment, expanded regional reach and regional relocation support and seeks clarity on:

• How were clinic locations chosen, given that the areas with the longest waiting lists aren’t prioritised?
• How the free clinics will integrate with existing public dental services without competing unfairly with them or with established private practices, many of them small family-owned businesses. Will eligible patients who now pay fees at public clinics keep paying while others receive free care elsewhere?
• Public dental chairs already run at about 52% capacity, and public clinics struggle to fill vacancies. How will 20 new clinics be staffed without taking staff from them? Will sign-on bonuses require a minimum period of service?
• Existing public dentists appear ineligible for the bonuses. Does the funding include ongoing pay parity for them (they earn on average 30% less than interstate counterparts) and pay for dental registrars, who currently work unpaid? Bonuses help with recruitment, but retention depends on ongoing pay. The Parliamentary Budget Office has costed parity with NSW at just $12 million over three years.

 

The Liberals and Nationals

The Liberals and Nationals have committed $40 million over four years to a Victorian Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme. It offers up to $10,000 upfront and up to $10,000 a year for health workers who stay in regional roles.

ADAVB also acknowledges the Coalition's 2023 bill proposing payroll tax relief for GPs, dentists and allied health practitioners, and invites the Coalition to recommit to it. ADAVB welcomes the new focus on regional recruitment and on retention, a long-standing call from the profession, and seeks clarity on:

• Whether, beyond incentive payments, the Coalition will address the underlying pay gap to improve workforce retention? Victorian public dentists are paid on average 30% less than in other states, and specialist dentists in training (registrars) remain entirely unpaid. The Parliamentary Budget Office has costed parity with NSW alone at just $12 million over three years.

 

The Greens

The Greens have committed $3 billion over ten years. This includes 20 publicly owned clinics open to all Victorians and the removal of out-of-pocket costs for public dental care. It also includes a pledge to make Victoria's oral health workers the best paid in Australia, funded vouchers for private care while public capacity is built, incentives for rural practice, and prevention measures including extended fluoridation.

ADAVB welcomes the prioritisation of workforce pay, regional incentives, vouchers and fluoridation and seeks clarity on:

• The timeline and workforce plan for staffing 20 new clinics alongside existing services.
• How will access be prioritised so that people with the highest need are seen first?
• How will the free clinics integrate with existing public dental services without competing unfairly with them or with established private practices, many of them small family-owned businesses?
• The funding rate and design of the proposed vouchers, which currently sit 10–26% below the DVA fee schedule and up to 52% below independent practice fees.

 

How the commitments compare (as of 1 November 2026)

 

Getting the detail right

Opening free dental care to all Victorians is a significant and untested model. Expanding access must not lengthen already long waiting times for people in the system, reduce the number of dentists in areas of greatest need, or result in publicly eligible and underserved populations paying fees while others receive free care elsewhere.  Questions to the parties remain outstanding, with responses welcome before 28 November. ADAVB stands ready to work with government so that every dollar of public investment delivers quality care for the Victorians who need it most.

 

Media Contact: A/Prof Neil Hewson        03 8825 4600                 [email protected]