Premier Ben Carroll promises free trips to dentist for thousands of Victorians if re-elected
Updated . First published at
Premier Ben Carroll has promised to provide free dental care to Victorians if re-elected in November, an Australian-first pitch to voters that would cost taxpayers $230 million over three years.
The Labor government said it will deliver 10 public dental clinics across the state, which would offer free check-ups and dental work including fillings, root canals and extractions.
Premier Ben Carroll has vowed free dental care if Labor is re-elected in November. Eddie Jim
No appointments will be needed for adults or children. It is expected the clinics would see up to 100,000 people annually and will open 365 days a year.
Carroll described free trips to the dentist as “structural cost of living relief to working Victorians” in his party’s first major attempt at courting voters ahead of the state election since ousted premier Jacinta Allan departed the top job.
“Only Labor will deliver free dental care for all Victorians,” Carroll said in a statement.
“We’re making sure we have a strong dental workforce to deliver care at our Australian-first clinics.
“It’ll save them real pain and real money.”
No appointments will be needed for adults or children under the $230 million plan. iStock
Carroll said the free walk-in clinics would be up and running by mid-2027 under a re-elected Labor government.
It would also open up 180 full-time jobs across the ten clinics, he said.
Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said Victorians should not be locked out of necessary dental case because of their financial status.
“Getting dental care shouldn’t be determined by your bank balance or where you live,” Stitt said.
Questions have now been raised over how Carroll’s government plans to adequately staff the clinics.
The Victorian Greens health spokesperson Dr Sarah Mansfield said the announcement is a “start” but warned that “getting an appointment will be harder than scoring Taylor Swift tickets”.
Labor backbenchers have been pushing the federal government for universal dental care under Medicare.
The Albanese government has said universal dental care is not a priority. Ruby Alexander
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has maintained that free dental care “is not a priority”.
“Although Labor has in its platform and ambition to bring dental into Medicare more broadly, we don’t have the capacity to do that in the immediate future,” Butler said during a National Press Club speech last year.
“When we were last in government, we introduced a Medicare style funding system for kids from families receiving family tax benefit. That’s working terrifically well... There is a recommendation to consider an equivalent style scheme for seniors that would be interesting to look at.
“Very expensive, but interesting to look at.”
Over a quarter of Australians are avoiding necessary dental care due to cost of living concerns, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Oral Health Report.
Young adults aged 18 to 25 are the least likely to visit the dentist, with about 60 per cent admitting to postponing check-ups due to financial barriers.
And in the 2024-25 financial year, children aged five to nine had the highest rate of preventable hospitalisations due to dental conditions.
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