Department of Health

Victoria's public dental care fees

Key messages

  • Providers of public dental care in Victoria may charge fees.
  • Anyone assessed as not being able to pay will be exempt from paying fees.

Victorians who pay fees for public dental care

Providers of public dental care charge fees to:

  • people aged 18 years and over who hold a health care or pensioner concession card, or who are dependants of concession card holders
  • children aged 0-12 years who do not hold a health care or pensioner concession card, and who are not dependants of concession card holders.

Fee schedule

People aged 18 years or over

The following fees are charged for people aged 18 years and over who hold a health care or pensioner concession card, or who are dependants of concession card holders:

  • $31.50 fee per visit, to a maximum of $126 for a general course of care (includes an examination and all general dental treatment)
  • $31.50 flat fee for an emergency course of care (includes assessment and treatment of the tooth, gum or denture that is causing pain)
  • $76 per denture, capped at $152 for full upper and lower dentures.

Children

Fees charged for children aged 0-12 years who are not healthcare or pensioner concession card holders and not dependants of concession card holders:

  • $38 flat fee per child for a general course of care (includes an examination and all general dental treatment). Fees per family will not exceed $152.

Specialist services

Fees for specialist services (Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne only) depend on the treatment. They will not be more than $378 for a course of care.

Fee exemptions

Providers of public dental care do not charge fees to:

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
  • people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness
  • refugees and asylum seekers
  • children and young people aged 0-17 years who hold a health care or pensioner concession card, or who are dependants of concession card holders
  • all children and young people who are in out-of-home care provided by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH) (including kinship and foster care), up to 18 years of age
  • all people in youth justice custodial care
  • people registered with mental health or disability services, supported by a letter of recommendation from their case manager or a special developmental school
  • people receiving care from undergraduate students
  • people experiencing financial hardship (as assessed by a qualified staff member).

Assessing people’s capacity to pay

Providers of public dental care cannot refuse to provide a dental service just because someone is unable to pay the fees. Their assessment of payment ability should consider the person’s overall capacity to pay, other health service costs that the person has to pay, and whether the person receives all available financial assistance (for example, rent assistance, carer’s allowance).

Reviewed 18 September 2024

Health.vic

In this topic

  • Access to public dental care
    Eligible Victorians can receive public dental services, and some receive priority access.
  • Public dental waiting list
    Providers of public dental care in Victoria assess whether a person needs routine or urgent dental care.
  • Dental reporting
    The documents of the Dental Health Program Data Set define data collection and reporting requirements for the Dental Health Program.

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