Parliamentary inquiry Into Dental Services To Launch In Australia
A parliamentary inquiry into dental services in Australia has been launched by the House of Representatives Health Committee.
Oral health experts, community groups and dental service providers have been asked to participate in the national inquiry into adult dental services with the aim of identifying areas of need in different regions of the country and determine how Commonwealth funding will be spent.
The inquiry will also discuss the issue of the National Partnership Agreement on dental health, which is designed to pass state funding directly to regional governments to improve public dental services.
Jill Hall, chairwomen of the committee, said that it was particularly important to get “grass-roots feedback from regional areas” and added that people should have access to public dental services, regardless of what part of the country they live in.
Hall also said that the committee was particularly interested in hearing from service providers and said that their experience was “invaluable” for the development of new policies and guidelines to benefit patients in the future.
The inquiry will aim to investigate waiting lists and the demand for treatment in different areas of the country, the coordination of services at national and regional levels, the availability of services in rural, urban and metropolitan communities and the availability of services for people with special needs.
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