Dentists

General Registration

There are several pathways to General Registration for dentists with overseas qualifications:

1. Dentists who are registered to practise in New Zealand under Trans-Tasman mutual recognition
2. Dentists with recognised dentistry qualifications from the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland or New Zealand
3. Dentists with recognised dentistry qualifications from Canada and compliant with the ‘additional requirements’
4. Dentists with other qualifications:
   a.complete an Australian approved program of study; or
   b.complete the examination process conducted by the Australian Dental Council (ADC).

1. Dentists who are registered to practise in New Zealand under Trans-Tasman mutual recognition

Dentists who are registered to practise in New Zealand are eligible to apply for General Registration under Trans-Tasman mutual recognition.

This applies irrespective of where training was completed and qualifications held.

An application form is available in the Forms section. 

2. Dentists with recognised qualifications from UK, Republic of Ireland or New Zealand

The Dental Board of Australia considers qualifications listed below from institutions in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and New Zealand to be substantially equivalent to an approved qualification for General Registration as a dentist. 

List of approved qualifications from overseas jurisdictions

Dentists

Practitioners who hold a qualification listed above may apply for General Registration as a dentist.

An application form is available in the Forms section.

3. Dentists with eligible qualifications from Canada and compliant with additional requirements

The Dental Board of Australia considers the following as qualification for general registration as a dentist:

• qualifications of Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) or Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in general dentistry awarded after 31 March 2010 by universities in Canada accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation of Canada, and
• demonstrated eligibility for registration in Canada by having successfully completed the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) examination.

4. Dentists with other qualifications

If qualifications do not meet requirements for registration to practise in Australia, there are two options available. The first is to complete an Australian qualification (a list of Board approved qualifications can be found on the Board’s website) and the second option is to undertake the examination procedure conducted by the Australian Dental Council (ADC).

The ADC is the organisation responsible for assessing overseas trained dentists to enable them to obtain registration in Australia. Overseas trained dentists are eligible to undertake the ADC examination procedure if they have completed and passed a dental degree which included at least four years' full-time academic study at a university recognised by the ADC and are registered as a dentist in their country of training or practice.

More information about the ADC examination procedure can be found on the ADC’s website.

Limited Registration

The Limited registration categories that dentists with overseas qualifications may apply for while working towards General Registration, are:

1. Public Sector Dental Workforce scheme
2. Limited Registration of Dentists for postgraduate training or supervised practice – Other international graduates

1. Limited Registration of Dentists - Public Sector Dental Workforce scheme (PSDWS)

The Board have decided to close the PSDWS based on the submissions it received during the consultation process which supported the closure. The closure date of the scheme is 1 January 2020.

The Board will work closely with the small number of current PSDWS registrants and other relevant stakeholders to co-ordinate the transition.

Further details can be found in the Board's 30 November 2018 Communique.

Under the PSDWS graduates from an undergraduate dental program in Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States that is listed on the ADC’s approved list are eligible to participate (see ADC’s website). These eligible participants are granted an exemption from the ADC Preliminary Examination. Registrants in this category of registration must complete the ADC Final Examination within three years of first becoming registered by the Board.

The key requirement of this category of registration is supervised practice in the dental profession and employment in an appropriate public sector program offered by a dental health service facility operated by the State or Territory government. In addition, the Board must be satisfied that the applicant is qualified for this category of Limited registration and that the applicant has completed a qualification that is relevant to, and suitable for the supervised practice. 
An application form is available in the Forms section.

2. Limited Registration of Dentists for postgraduate training or supervised practice – Other international graduates

This Limited registration for postgraduate training or supervised practice category of registration provides an alternate pathway for registration in the PSDW Scheme for those international graduates whose dental qualifications are not on the ADC’s approved list.

The fundamental requirement of this category of registration is supervised practice in the dental profession and employment with an appropriate public sector program offered by a dental health service facility operated by the State or Territory government. In addition, the Board must be satisfied that the applicant is qualified for this category of Limited registration and that the applicant has completed a qualification that is relevant to, and suitable for the supervised practice.

There is also a requirement for mandatory supervision reports to be provided to the Board.

To apply for this category of registration applicants must have completed the ADC Preliminary Examination and must complete the ADC Final Examination within one year of first becoming registered (this may be extended to two years but only with agreement by the employer). 

An application form is available in the Forms section.

The Board’s Registration Standard sets out the requirements for these two categories of limited registration:

• Limited Registration for Postgraduate Training or Supervised Practice Registration Standard (282 KB,PDF)

Specialist registration

There are thirteen dental specialties in Australia. Find more information on our Specialist registration page.