Public dental fees in each state and territory

Fee lines

Each service’s charges for adults

1. 01NSW

   Adults

   “Eligible adults can receive free dental care from NSW public dental clinics.”

   Page date

   Current as at 1 July 2026

   As NSW Health’s page gave it on 9 October 2026.

2. 02VIC

   Who pays

   People 18 or over who hold a health care or pensioner concession card, or are a cardholder’s dependant

   General course of care

   $32.50 each visit, to a $130 ceiling for the whole course, which covers an examination and all general treatment

   Emergency course of care

   $32.50, one flat fee, for assessing and treating the tooth, gum or denture causing pain

   Dentures

   $80 for each denture, with $160 the most for a full upper and lower set

   As the Victorian Department of Health’s page gave it on 9 October 2026.

3. 03QLD

   Adults

   “Public dental services in Queensland are funded by the government and are provided free to eligible people.”

   Transport

   “You are responsible for the cost of your transport to and from dental clinics.”

   As the Queensland Government’s page gave it on 9 October 2026.

4. 04SA

   General co-payment

   Up to $183.00

   Emergency co-payment

   $72.00

   Upper and lower dentures

   $405.00 from a dentist, $364.50 from a prosthetist

   Upper or lower denture

   $228.50 from a dentist, $205.50 from a prosthetist

   As SA Dental’s page gave it on 9 October 2026.

5. 05WA

   Subsidy

   The WA Government pays up to 75% of the cost of treatment at a public clinic, at a level set by your Centrelink income

   Card holders’ share

   With a Health Care Card or a Pension Card, you pay 25% or 50% of the cost

   Fee basis

   The Commonwealth Department of Veterans’ Affairs schedule of dental fees

   As Dental Health Services WA’s pages gave it on 9 October 2026.

6. 06TAS

   General care

   $47 an appointment, capped at $188 for the course of care; some complex treatment costs more

   Priority care

   $47 to treat one urgent problem

   Dentures

   $415 for a full upper and lower set; $234 for a full upper or lower

   Page date

   “applicable from 26 March 2025”, though the page also says “Last updated 17 January 2024”

   As the Tasmanian Department of Health’s page gave it on 9 October 2026.

7. 07ACT

   Treatment plan

   $577.80 cap per plan, not counting root canal therapy, splints or denture work

   Emergency appointment

   $55.15

   Denture repair

   A minimum co-payment of $55.15

   As Canberra Health Services’ page gave it on 9 October 2026.

8. 08NT

   Adults

   The NT public dental services page is the place to check.

   No NT fee line is printed here.

Victoria

Who pays in Victoria, and who does not

Victoria’s page says providers of public dental care may charge fees, and that the people charged are those aged 18 or older who either hold a health care or pensioner concession card or are dependants of someone who does. Anyone assessed as unable to pay is exempt, and a provider may not refuse a service only because a person cannot pay.

The page also lists people who are not charged at all. Some of them, paraphrased (the full list is on Victoria’s fees page):

• “Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people”
• people who are homeless, or at risk of it
• refugees and people seeking asylum
• anyone held in youth justice custody
• people registered with mental health or disability services who have a letter of recommendation from a case manager or a special developmental school
• people treated by undergraduate students
• people in financial hardship, as a qualified staff member assesses it.

South Australia

South Australia’s co-payments

SA Dental says what you pay depends on the kind of care, and that it discusses costs with you before treatment. The charge is the same at every one of its clinics, and it notes that these amounts usually rise each year. Denture costs also turn on the kind of denture care and on who provides it, a dentist or a prosthetist, hence the two prices.

Western Australia

Western Australia’s share of the cost

Western Australia works as a subsidy rather than a flat fee. Its page adds that no Medicare rebate applies to the dental treatment it provides.

For people in the country with no public clinic in their town, the Country Patients Dental Subsidy Scheme lets them see a private dentist who has agreed to treat them for the same cost as a public clinic.

Tasmania

Tasmania’s co-payments, and a date to check

Tasmania calls its charge a co-payment contribution, a part of the treatment cost you pay yourself, and says its staff go through it with you before treatment. Some high-cost treatments carry extra co-payments, discussed at the appointment, and the page invites people to ask about payment plans for dentures.

Tasmania’s page on paying says you are told the co-payment when you book, and that anything you owe comes as an invoice. Centrepay, which takes voluntary regular deductions from Centrelink payments, is one way to pay it.

ACT

The ACT’s caps and co-payments

Canberra Health Services puts it this way: “Your costs for public dental care will depend on your circumstances. Co-payments may apply, this includes Gold Veteran Card holders.” At an emergency appointment, it says, your most urgent dental problem is the one treated.

How public dental waiting lists work explains how the lists are ordered, and who can get public dental care covers the cards each service accepts. The home page tickets put cards and costs side by side.