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Through the 2016-17 Budget, the Government is introducing the new national Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme from 1 July 2016. This Scheme will replace the Child Dental Benefits Schedule and the National Partnership Agreement on Adult Dental Services. Under the Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme, over 10 million Australians will have access to Federal Government subsidised public dental care. We expect that an extra 600,000 public dental patients will be treated each year through this Scheme. The Government will spend $2.1 billion in the five year National Partnership Agreement for the new Scheme. This represents the largest-ever Commonwealth investment in public dental coverage — which, for the first time, will be enshrined in legislation to provide long-term certainty. Overall, we will spend a total of about $5 billion over the next four years in improving dental outcomes, including through the Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme, private health insurance rebate, the Commonwealth’s contribution to in-hospital dental services, and dental infrastructure in rural and remote Australia. Public dental services will be improved with better funding. Over time, people’s dental health issues will be tackled earlier, with the focus shifting from restorative to preventive dental care, avoiding tooth decay, and alleviating more significant health problems and expense. The new Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme lays the foundations for a fair and equitable national scheme for children and adults that Australia can afford now and into the future. This reflects the Government’s broader integrated approach to health reform, improving oral health, and contributing to better overall health.

Although Australian’s oral health has improved over the past three decades, largely through the introduction of fluoridation in the 1960s, poor oral health is still an issue for many Australians. Across the population, three out of 10 adults have untreated tooth decay. The rate is more than twice this among adults on low incomes and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Poor oral health leads to poorer overall health outcomes. It means visiting the GP or emergency department time and again for pain management, hospitalisations that could have been prevented, and complications for other illnesses. For older people, it can mean poor nutrition leading to further health problems. And it means greater costs to the health system. Good oral health involves ongoing maintenance for life – but dental care in Australia can be very expensive. Cost is one of the main reasons why almost half of adult Australians only see the dentist when they feel they have to obtain treatment for a problem, rather than for preventative care. While adults have on average 13 decayed, filled or missing teeth, people on lower incomes have on average 20 affected teeth. Public dental services face great pressure in providing services to children and low income adults.

From 1 July 2016, the Australian Government will establish a Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme in partnership with states and territories. The new scheme will assist the states and territories in providing access to dental care to patients with the greatest oral health needs in our communities. The Commonwealth will be introducing legislation to establish an ongoing capped special appropriation to fund agreements with the states and territories to provide assistance for public dental services provided to children and adults with concession cards. It envisages that the initial agreement will be for a period of five years. Approximately $415 million will be available in 2016-17, and an estimated total of $2.1 billion over the life of the agreement. Under the agreement, the Commonwealth will make funding available on an activity basis, paying a proportion of the efficient cost of every service delivered by the states and territories. States and territories will continue to be responsible for managing and delivering services as they are now. Legislation establishing the new arrangements will also close the Child Dental Benefits Schedule from 1 July 2016.