Accreditation

The Dental Board of Australia (the Board) is responsible for the regulation of dental practitioners. The Australian Dental Council (ADC) is the accreditation authority responsible for accrediting education providers and programs of study.

The following accreditation standards for the profession have been approved by the Board and are published in accordance with section 47(6) of the National Law. 

• Accreditation Standards for Dental Practitioner Programs effective 1 Jan 2021 (252 KB,PDF)

These standards are also published on the Australian Dental Council website.

The ADC also develops the Professional competencies of the newly qualified dental practitioner, in consultation with the dental profession. The competencies represent the minimum skill set expected of practitioners upon graduation from an ADC accredited program of study. They are also used in the assessment of overseas qualified practitioners.

Programs to extend scope for the dental profession were phased out and expired on 18 December 2018.

The approval of programs expired on 31 December 2018 and the list has since been removed from the Board’s website.

Practitioners who wish to broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence, may do so by completing continuing professional development (CPD). This is activities that:

• relate to a practitioner’s individual scope of practice, and
• comply with the Board’s CPD registration standard and guidelines.

Practitioners must self-assess whether the selected CPD activities/courses provide sufficient clinical experience to incorporate a new procedure/technique/treatment as part of their clinical practice.