ALP dental scheme promise
A Rudd Labor Government will fund up to one million additional dental consultations for Australians needing dental treatment by establishing a Commonwealth Dental Health Program.
Federal Labor Leader Kevin Rudd has pledged to invest up to $290 million to a Commonwealth Dental Health Program – one of the first programs scrapped by the Howard Government in 1996.
It will be the first installment of Labor’s Commonwealth Dental Health Program.
Under Federal Labor’s plan, over three years, up to one million Australians will finally receive much needed dental treatment, via funding to the States and Territories to help clear the backlog.
They will either supplement their existing public services or purchase private sector appointments for the hundreds of thousands stuck on their waiting lists.
Under the Rudd Labor plan, State and Territory Governments – in exchange for additional funding – will be required to meet new standards of dental care. They include:
• Providing priority services to individuals with chronic diseases affected by poor oral health;
• Providing timely service for preventative and emergency services; and
• Maintaining current effort.
