Strategic Plan | Australian Dental Association

As the national peak body, ADA has a proud history as the voice of Australian dentists and oral health.

The Strategic Plan 2025-2028 leads us into a sustainable future that ensures we remain the trusted voice for the dental profession and oral health in Australia.

ADA's Strategic Plan prioritises six strategic pillars that are transforming ADA to be a future fit association, providing continued protections, advice and guidance together with professional development, networking and federal representation that our valued members can rely on.
Strategic plan diagram

To develop the Strategic Plan ... we paused, we asked, we listened, we took action, and now we are investing and delivering.

We Paused

In 2024 the ADA Board evaluated the current Strategic Plan and resolved to refresh the strategy with a clearer focus on sustainability for the longer term.

Just like you in your own career, we needed to adapt to ensure we are leading change and transformation to continue to serve our members and deliver national advocacy leadership in the years ahead.

We asked, we listened

We asked you, our members, what we need to do better and differently to meet your needs for today and tomorrow, and we examined global trends and best practice to inform our strategic planning. In short, members told us they value the essentials:

trusted clinical and professional standards, guidelines, protections and support
strong national advocacy for the profession
access to high-quality CPD and career development opportunities
a sense of belonging to a community that understands their world.

Members want benefits that better reflect the diverse needs of our community, which differ by life and career stage, practice type and location, ensuring value for all members regardless of stage, setting or motivation. And they want a simpler, more seamless digital experience.

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We took action

We launched a refreshed Strategic Plan in three stages, completing the first stage in the 2025-2026 financial year.

Stage 1: Respond (FY 2024-25) - in this foundational first stage, we reinvigorated our operating model, internal capability and systems to ensure ADA has the right skills and systems required for the growth and transformation members expect and need. A new member value proposition delivered more member value aligned to member need.

Stage 2: Rejuvinate (FY 2026-27) - in the second stage, the focus is on innovation - continuing to elevate our national advocacy and member experience, and continue to build non-member revenue streams for the long-term sustainability of ADA.

Stage 3: Resilience (FY 2027-28+) - from here on, the focus is embedding strength and resilience to withstand change and position ADA for future growth.

At each stage, outcomes are measured at set milestones, and progress is shared with members.

We invested

The 2025-2028 Strategic Plan is underpinned by the development of our people, our technology, our investments, our governance and our culture.

We invested in:

Experienced leaders with the capability to drive change and improved member outcomes.
Enhanced governance, risk and project management systems, with clear accountability and an evidence-based measurement and reporting framework.
Building a future-fit foundation for growth, with greater efficiency and enhanced cybersecurity.

We are delivering

The Stage 1 Business Plan (FY 2025-26) guided day-to-day improvements in operations to serve our members, and delivered key initiatives aligned to our six strategic pillars.

Here are some highlights of the value we delivered for members over the year.

Effective National Advocacy

We now have a permanent presence in Canberra delivering strong representation on behalf of the dental profession, across federal government and key sector stakeholders.

Our six-year advocacy strategy is delivering federal impact for members, and the Future of Dentistry Report is guiding our policy and advocacy efforts for the next 10 years.

Major advocacy win - International Qualified Health Practitioners

A major advocacy win this year for ADA members, on behalf of the dental profession, was influencing federal government to recognise that dentistry has a workforce maldistribution problem, not a workforce shortage. As a result, the government changed its position on streamlined pathways for experienced internationally qualified practitioners, and will no longer pursue the experience-based pathway. We can now influence the government's next steps.

See National Advocacy Hub

Product and Service Excellence

Based on member feedback, we’re improving the member journey for dentists at each stage of their career. Here are some examples of our strategy in action.

The new member-only Dental Files CPD podcast doubled member downloads in its first months, with a new Early Careers podcast series supporting new dentists to develop their practice and grow their career.
Our inaugural Women in Dentistry event brought together women from across Australia to build community and connection as we celebrated their achievements in dentistry.
We continued to improve our digital experience with an improved website, new channels, an upgraded membership CRM with more self-service and a better member experience, and strengthened data governance.

Strategy in action

Enablers of our delivery

Our people, our technology, our investments, our governance and our culture.

ADA Strategic Plan 2025-2028

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