Victorians would be able to walk into a dental clinic and receive free checkups and treatment under an Australian-first proposal the Labor government will take to the November state election.
The premier, Ben Carroll, will announce the plan – Labor’s first major election commitment – at a rally on Saturday to mark fewer than ۱۰۰ days until Victorians go to the polls.
Carroll will say a re-elected Labor government would spend $۲۳۰m to open ۱۰ public dental clinics across the state, where oral care clinicians would be able to provide free checkups and treatments, including fillings, root canals and extractions.
Carroll described the plan as “structural cost-of-living support” and a national-first intervention by a state government.
“Only Labor will deliver free dental care for all Victorians,” he said in a statement.
The health minister, Ingrid Stitt, described the plan as the dental equivalent of the state’s urgent care clinics, where people can “turn up and get the care you need”.
“Getting dental care shouldn’t be determined by your bank balance or where you live,” Stitt said.
Walk-in basis
Under the proposal, seven of the public dental clinics would be located in Melbourne and three in regional Victoria, in areas where there are gaps in services.
The clinics would be open from ۹am to ۹pm on weekdays and ۹am to ۵pm on weekends and would operate on a walk-in basis, with priority given to people with the most urgent needs, including those experiencing dental pain or swelling or who have had an accident.
Once fully operational, the government said they would treat more than ۱۰۰,۰۰۰ Victorians a year.
The state’s urgent care clinics were similarly unveiled just three months before the ۲۰۲۲ Victorian election as part of a joint announcement with New South Wales.
The federal government also began contributing funding to the clinics and expanded the rollout. It is unclear whether the Victorian government will seek federal funding or involvement in the proposed dental clinics.
Dental costing Australians big
Across most of Australia, free or low-cost dental care is currently only available to specific eligible groups such as children and young people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those with concession cards.
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In Victoria, $۲۳۹m was allocated in the ۲۰۲۶-۲۷ budget to dental, including the Smile Squad program in public schools.
But Medicare does not cover dental care for most adults, leaving millions of Australians to choose between dipping into their wallets or skipping treatment.
According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) data, Australia spends more than $۱۲bn on dental services. About ۶۱% of that cost falls to the individual, health insurance funds cover ۱۹%, and the federal government ۱۱% and state governments ۸%. There has also been a sharp rise in applications to access superannuation early to fund dental treatment.
Guardian Australia reported in ۲۰۲۵ that people struggling to afford dental bills were delaying or skipping treatment, while untreated tooth decay was increasing and record numbers of Australians were presenting to hospitals for dental procedures.
Later that year, during the federal election, the Greens campaigned heavily on their plan to expand Medicare to cover dental services for adults, which was costed at $۱۹۵bn over ۱۰ years. The party went backwards at the election but continues to pursue the policy.
Federal Labor backbenchers have also previously expressed support for putting dental treatment into Medicare and it remains in the party platform.
In Victoria, Labor sources are hopeful Carroll’s announcement will shift the party into campaign mode after weeks spent seeking to differentiate himself from his predecessors, Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan, including by calling a royal commission into the construction sector and pausing the passage of work from home legislation.
However, sources have said the dental policy was developed under Allan and her team.
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