ADA's 2026‑27 pre‑budget submission: priorities for oral health reform

The Australian Dental Association's 2026‑27 pre‑budget submission sets out a targeted package of reforms to implement the National Oral Health Plan, improve access for vulnerable groups, and strengthen a self‑sufficient dental workforce. These priorities aim to reduce inequities in oral health and make funding for dental care more sustainable and fairer.

Summary of recommendations

The ADA is calling on the Australian Government to: fund and implement the National Oral Health Plan (NOHP) 2025‑2034, reject risky changes to registration standards for internationally qualified health practitioners, address workforce maldistribution, expand dental benefits for children and seniors, improve the design and equity of private and public dental funding, and invest in prevention and oral health data.

Funding the National Oral Health Plan

A dedicated multi‑year implementation fund is needed to turn the NOHP 2025‑2034 from a framework into concrete improvements in access and outcomes. Federal investment should be tied to clear oral health indicators such as shorter public waiting times and reduced potentially preventable hospitalisations due to dental conditions. The submission also calls for stronger national oral health data, including on waiting times, service mix and workforce distribution, to support targeted implementation and accountability.

Prioritising Australian workforce self‑sufficiency 

The ADA is urging the Government to reject the proposed registration standard for experienced internationally qualified health practitioners as it applies to dentistry. Our submissions on this have highlighted three core concerns: the risk to patient safety from a work‑experience‑based pathway with unclear comparability of overseas regulation, the undermining of investment in Australian dental education at a time when local graduate numbers are already strong, and the fact that the proposal will not fix dentist maldistribution because overseas‑qualified dentists tend to cluster in metropolitan areas rather than rural, remote and public settings. Instead, the ADA is calling for nationally coordinated workforce planning that prioritises Australian training pathways and targeted incentives for service in underserved locations.

Strengthening the dentist workforce and access for vulnerable groups

The submission recommends incentives such as scholarships, relocation and retention packages, salary loadings and expanded rural training pathways to attract and retain dentists and dental teams in rural, regional and remote communities. To improve access for vulnerable groups, the ADA proposes enhancements to the Child Dental Benefits Schedule, establishment of a Senior Dental Benefits Schedule, expanded general anaesthesia access for children and at‑risk groups, and greater investment in public dental services aligned with demand.

Private health insurance and sustainable dental funding

The ADA is also seeking reforms to improve the sustainability and equity of dental funding, including action on private health insurance. The submission calls for parity of PHI rebates for dental services, and for scrutiny of the impacts of vertically integrated health fund clinics on patient choice and competition. Alongside long‑term public dental funding and appropriate DVA rebate settings, these changes are intended to create a more balanced funding environment that supports access in both the public and private systems.

Prevention, regulation and complex care

To support system‑wide prevention, the ADA recommends national measures to reduce sugar intake, better labelling of added sugars, consideration of a levy on sugar‑sweetened beverages, and expanded water fluoridation. It also calls for teledentistry rebates to extend care to rural and remote communities, tighter regulation of DIY dental appliances and teeth whitening, and a Head and Neck Cancer Maxillofacial Prosthetics Benefits Scheme to fund essential rehabilitation for cancer patients.

These priorities position oral health as a core part of the health system and reinforce the ADA’s role as a leading advisor to Government on practical, evidence‑based reform.