Inquiry into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia

The Senate is establishing a Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia charged with inquiring into and reporting on:

a) the experience of children and adults in accessing and affording dental and related services;

b) the adequacy and availability of public dental services in Australia, including in outer-metropolitan, rural, regional and remote areas; 

c) the interaction between Commonwealth, state and territory government legislation, strategies and programs in meeting community need for dental services; 

d) the provision of dental services under Medicare, including the Child Dental Benefits Schedule; 

e) the social and economic impact of improved dental healthcare; 

f) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and cost-of-living crisis on access to dental and related services;

g) pathways to improve oral health outcomes in Australia, including a path to universal access to dental services; 

h) the adequacy of data collection, including access to dental care and oral health outcomes;

i) workforce and training matters relevant to the provision of dental services;

j) international best practice for, and consideration of the economic benefit of, access to dental services;

k) any related matters.

Further details are available via the inquiry’s website.

The ADA will be making a submission on behalf of all members but any member who would like to lodge a submission in their status as an individual practitioner or to submit a patient case – these submissions should always focus on the individual perspective rather than dentistry as a whole – is encouraged to do so.

Submissions should be made via email or via mail to PO Box 6100, Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 no later than 5:00pm (AEST), Thursday, 4 May 2023.