The Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) has welcomed the Australian Government’s decision to invest $4 billion over 6 years on dental health care for children, disadvantaged adults and those in rural, regional and remote areas.

“PHAA welcomes this initiative, particularly its emphasis on improving the oral health of children, adults on low incomes and the focus on service delivery in rural, regional and remote areas. It’s represents a $4 billion investment in the future health of kids and redressing existing inequities in service delivery across the country,” said Melanie Walker, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the PHAA.

The six-year package announced today includes:
● $2.7 billion for around 3.4 million Australian children who will be eligible for subsidised dental care;
● $1.3 billion for around 1.4 million additional services for adults on low incomes, including pensioners and concession card holders, and those with special needs; who will have better access to dental care in the public system; and
● $225 million for dental capital and workforce will be provided to support expanded services for people living in outer metropolitan, regional, rural and remote areas.

“Children aged 2-17 in families who are eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part A will be able to access $1,000 worth of subsidised dental treatment each over a two-year period. This will have significant flow-on effects in terms of future savings for the health system, by helping to prevent dental and related health problems. The additional expenditure on public health services for disadvantaged adults will mean that services will now be accessible to a million people who have been unable to access basic dental services. Expenditure on capital and workforce measures in rural, regional and remote areas will also go a long way to redressing the inequities in service provision for people living in the bush.

“Scrapping the Chronic Diseases Dental Scheme, which wasn’t means-tested and enabled access to non-core services, will help to pay for this new initiative that is more targetted and better positioned to redress the considerable inequality in oral health in Australia.

“It will be important to ensure that implementation of the initiative allows for family-based care. A complementary emphasis on preventive care for adults is also important - while addressing access to dental services is fundamental for oral health, the other part of the equation is to prevent oral diseases from occurring in the first place. Prevention opportunities include the extension of water fluoridation, good oral health policy in key settings such as schools and nursing homes, and action to allow the healthy eating choices to be the easier choices.

“PHAA looks forward to participating in the development of the Australian Oral Health Promotion plan that was foreshadowed in the May Federal Budget,” said Ms Walker.

For further information/comment:
Melanie Walker, Acting CEO, Public Health Association of Australia 0438 430 963
Dr Bruce Simmons, PHAA Oral Health Special Interest Group Convenor 0451 457 335

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