1. Position Summary
Regulation of dental practice is essential to ensure public and dental personnel safety, maintain professional standards, and manage practitioner conduct. Regulation of dentistry must be evidence based with demonstrable patient safety risks.
2. Position
Purpose of Regulation
2.1. To ensure the health and safety of the community, it is essential to regulate dental practice as it includes irreversible, invasive and exposure-prone procedures and potentially fatal risks.
Dental Act Objects
2.2. The Objects of a Dental Act should be to:
• protect the public by ensuring that health care is delivered by health care providers in a professional, safe and competent way;
• uphold the standards of practice within the health professions;
• provide a uniform system to deal with complaints, investigations and disciplinary proceedings relating to dental practitioners, that is complementary to the systems used by state or territory health complaints Commissions; and
• provide a system for the management of impaired dental practitioners.
The Board
2.3. The Board's function is to align with contemporary community expectations of dental care standards, in addition to those of dental practitioners and other relevant scientific and standards bodies. Therefore, for effective governance, its members must possess or acquire a comprehensive knowledge of relevant dental practice, health, governance, communication and legal issues.
Composition of the Board
2.4. The Board must have expertise in the whole of dentistry, so its composition should be based on expertise while also allowing representation from non-dentist practitioners. The Board should be composed of the following members:
• dentists in clinical practice should constitute a majority of the Board, and must not possess any conditions on their registration;
• the majority of the dentists on the Board should be general practitioners;
• one of each of the registered Dental Team Members;
• at least one consumer representative; and
• the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Board must be dentists.
Types of Registration
2.5. There must be provision for separate registers of:
• dentists, including specialist dentists;
• dental hygienists;
• dental therapists;
• oral health therapists; and
• dental prosthetists
Criteria for Registration
2.6. Registration must be contingent on holding appropriate qualifications and meeting all applicable Registration Standards.
Fees
2.7. Registration fees for all dental practitioners must be calculated based on cost recovery and applied evenly.
Renewal of Registration
2.8. Registration must be renewed annually and registered practitioners must continue to satisfy the relevant Registration Standards.
Accreditation of Qualifications
2.9. Accreditation of qualifications should be by an independent accreditation authority e.g., the Australian Dental Council (ADC).
Examination of Holders of Unaccredited Qualifications
2.10. The Board must have the authority to assess unaccredited qualifications for equivalency to Australian qualifications.
2.11. An independent accreditation authority should perform this assessment on behalf of the Board.
Restriction of Practice
2.12. Dental Acts must make it illegal for persons who are not dental practitioners to perform a Restricted Dental Act upon another person. Exceptions should be made for:
• dental practitioner students;
• medical practitioners; and
• any person for the provision of first aid in emergencies.
2.13. Structured professional relationship requirements should be clearly set out in regulation.
Restriction of Titles
2.14. Titles for dentists that should be protected and reserved are “dentist” and “dental surgeon”.
2.15. Recognised titles for each dental specialty should be protected and reserved for persons
registered as specialists.
2.16. Titles for registered Dental Team Members that should be protected and reserved are “dental hygienist”, “dental therapist”, “oral health therapist”, and “dental prosthetist”.
2.17. Students enrolled in dental education programs should be identified as such. Examples are “student dentist”, “specialist in training”, “Orthodontic registrar”, “Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery trainee”.
2.18. Amongst registered dental practitioners, the use of the honorary title “doctor” should be restricted to dentists.
2.19. Where a registered Dental Team Member has gained a Doctor of Philosophy, use of the title “doctor” should be transparently explained to avoid patient confusion as to not mislead patients between dentists and other Dental Team Members.
False Representation
2.20. Dental Acts must prohibit persons from representing themselves as registrants and must ensure that registrants only use titles for which they have been registered. It should also be an offence to falsely represent another person as a registrant if that person is not.
2.21. Dental practitioners must be strictly prohibited from using the terms 'specialist' or 'specialty' unless they are officially registered under that specialty. Additionally, any language or representations that suggest, or could reasonably be interpreted to suggest, that a practitioner offers professional services in a field of dentistry not formally recognised as a specialty should be expressly forbidden. This measure is essential to prevent misleading claims, ensure public trust, and uphold professional integrity within the dental profession.
All dental practitioners should use their appropriate titles and not the generic title “dental
practitioner” which could reasonably be understood to imply that the person provides services as a dentist.
Uniformity
2.22. There should be uniformity across Australia and New Zealand in the following areas:
• legislation regulating dentistry;
• recognition of specialist dentists;
• scope of practice and training requirements of allied dental personnel; and
• recognition of qualifications.
Advertising
2.23. Provisions giving power to act against false, misleading and deceptive advertising should be included in a Dental Act, notwithstanding the statutory rights available to consumers under the Australian Consumer Law.
Payment for Referrals
2.24. Payments for referrals and receiving payments for referrals must be prohibited.
Professional Standards
2.25. Dental Acts should give the Board the power to make Registration Standards.
Penalties
2.26. Penalties for breaches must be a material deterrent.
Complaints/Notifications
2.27. A registered health practitioner must report another registered practitioner if they form a reasonable belief that the other person has engaged in notifiable conduct.
2.28. The Board or one of its committees must be jointly involved along with any Commission in dealing with complaints regarding dental practitioners. In jurisdictions where a Commission does not exist, a committee of the Board should assume the responsibilities typically undertaken by a Commission in the complaints process.
Investigations
2.29. The Board can either investigate a complaint or notification directly or it can appoint an investigator to do so. Any investigator appointed by the Board must be able to show proof of their appointment upon request.
2.30. Investigations must be conducted in a fair, efficient and timely way, and matters that are not complex investigations should generally be closed within 90 days of receipt of a complaintor notification.
2.31. Following an investigation, the Board must decide to do one of the following:
• if the Board considers a matter that warrants suspension or deregistration, it must refer the matter to a Tribunal for a formal disciplinary hearing;
• if a practitioner is immediately suspended and the investigation indicates further disciplinary action is necessary, the Board must refer the matter to a Tribunal;
Otherwise, the Board may
• refer the matter for informal disciplinary action by a committee of the Board, which may conduct a hearing or action by correspondence or enter into an undertaking with the practitioner, with the practitioner’s agreement, about the practitioner’s conduct or practise; or
• refer the matter to a Commission with the Commission’s agreement; or
• deal with the matter under the part of the National Law dealing with impairment; or
• take no further action.
Immediate Suspension and Imposition of Conditions
2.32. The Board must have the power to effectively respond to imminent threats to the wellbeing of patients. It needs the authority to suspend or impose conditions on a practitioner’s registration, subject to appropriate levels of procedural fairness in the circumstances.
Informal Disciplinary Processes
2.33. Informal disciplinary processes are those conducted by the Board or its committee and must have the following characteristics:
• The penalties open to the Board or its committees shall be restricted to caution, reprimand, or undertakings.
• The person shall be entitled to be accompanied by another person.
• There shall not be public access to informal processes.
• The person must have the right to request a formal hearing by a Tribunal.
• The recording of penalties on the public register must be at the Board’s discretion.
Formal Disciplinary Processes
2.34. Formal disciplinary processes must have the following characteristics:
• They should be heard before a Tribunal consisting of a judicial officer, a dentist and a dental practitioner of the same profession and category as the practitioner subject to the action.
• A person before a Tribunal is entitled to legal representation.
• All formal proceedings should be open to the public unless decided otherwise by the Tribunal.
• The Tribunal may impose penalties including deregistration, suspension, conditions, or fines.
• Any adverse disciplinary decision of the Tribunal must be recorded on the public register.
• Any conditions placed on the person should be reviewed within three years. Thereafter the conditions can be reviewed by the Board.
Power to Monitor Compliance
2.35. The Board must have adequate powers to monitor and enforce compliance with Tribunal orders.
Appeals
2.36. Appeals against decisions of the Board shall be made to a Tribunal and involve a rehearing.
2.37. Under certain circumstances, a Tribunal decision can be reviewed by a superior court of the participating jurisdiction.
Impairment
2.38. The Board must have the authority to manage impaired practitioners through a process separate from standard disciplinary procedures.
2.39. Allowing practitioners to continue practice while recovering from impairment is not inconsistent with maintaining professional standards and public safety.
2.40. Treating health practitioners should be excluded from mandatory notification requirements under the National Law.
3. Background
3.1. Because dental procedures are invasive and can be irreversible, they carry potential risks, including life-threatening complications. To protect patients, it is vital to have rigorous standards of care, informed patient consent, and adherence to safety protocols.
3.2. To ensure consistent standards, Australia's dental profession is regulated under the National Law, which is adopted by each state and territory. The Board and AHPRA are responsible for overseeing practitioner regulation and registration.
3.3. In addition to the National Law, states and territories administer additional legislation that complements the National Law by governing areas like the prescribing of medications and the use of medical equipment.
4. Definitions
4.1. AUSTRALIAN HEALTH PRACTITIONER REGISTRATION AGENCY (AHPRA) is the agency that supports the National Boards to implement the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
4.2. The AUSTRALIAN DENTAL COUNCIL (the ADC) is an independent authority assigned the accreditation functions for the dental profession by the Dental Board of Australia under the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
4.3. ALLIED DENTAL PRACTITIONERS are those dental practitioners other than dentists.
4.4. BOARD is the Dental Board of Australia.
4.5. COMMISSION is any state health complaints commission.
4.6. DENTAL ACT is any Federal, State or Territory Act that has a primary purpose to regulate the practice of dentistry
4.7. DENTAL PRACTITIONER is a person registered by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency via the Board to provide dental care.
4.8. DENTAL TEAM MEMBERS are those, other than dentists, who contribute to the provision of dental care and services. This includes both registered practitioners (such as oral health therapists, dental hygienists, dental prosthetists, and dental therapists) and non-registered personnel (such as dental assistants, dental technicians, and practice support staff).
4.9. DENTIST is an appropriately qualified dental practitioner, registered by the Board to practise all areas of dentistry.
4.10. FITNESS TO PRACTISE includes the applicant's mental and physical health, command of the English language, any relevant criminal history, any past deregistration, suspension, or limitations imposed under a similar law, as well as the applicant's recency of practice.
4.11. NATIONAL LAW is the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, which is enacted in each state and territory.
4.12. NATIONAL SCHEME means the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme.
4.13. RECENCY OF PRACTICE means that a practitioner has maintained an adequate connection and recent practice in dentistry since qualifying.
4.14. REGISTRATION STANDARDS are legal requirements that all registered dental practitioners must meet.
4.15. RENEWAL OF REGISTRATION is the process of re-registering a person already registered.
4.16. RESTRICTED DENTAL ACT is as defined in the National Law.
4.17. TRIBUNAL is a committee or board appointed to adjudicate in a matter that relates to registered health practitioners.
5. Last review
September 2025
6. Next review due
September 2030
This Policy Statement is linked to other Policy Statement:
3.1 Dental Workforce and Education
3.2 Dentists
3.4 Specialist Dentists
3.8 Overseas Qualified Dentists
3.9 Recency of Practice
5.9 Dental Accreditation Authority
6.3 Dental Health Care Workers (and Students) Infected with Blood-Borne Viruses
6.4 Management of Impaired Practitioners
6.9 Advertising in Dentistry
