ADIA CEO Update: 12 December 2024

National Oral Health Plan Workshops

On 3-4 December, Dr Sarah Raphael, ADIA Director of Policy and Education was among 28 key stakeholders who attended the co-design development workshops for the next National Oral Health Plan 2015-2034 (NOHP) in Canberra.

The Commonwealth Department of Health (the Department) has established a Governance Group to lead and oversee the development of the next NOHP, which includes representation from all public oral health jurisdictions and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The role of the NOHP Governance Group is to lead the development of key focus areas and priorities of the NOHP, a performance monitoring plan to track the implementation and outcomes and an on-going governance mechanism to track the achievement and progress of the NOHP strategic objectives and goals. As part of this role, the Governance Group have assembled a NOHP Stakeholder Group.
 

The Stakeholder Group

The stakeholder group is tasked with reviewing the previous NOHP and collaboratively developing key priorities for the next NOHP. This group includes:

• ADIA
• Professional associations including Aust Dental Assoc (ADA), Aust Dental and Oral Health Therapists Association (ADOHTA), Dental Hygienists Assoc of Aust (DHAA), Aust Dental Prosthetists Assoc (ADPA), Dental Assistants Professional Assoc (DAPA) , Aust and NZ Academy of Special Needs Dentistry (ANZASND) and the Indigenous Dental Assoc Australia (IDAA)
• Australian Council of Dental Schools
• Aust Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), the Dental Board of Australia (DBA) and the Australian Dental Council (ADC)
• National Oral Health Alliance (NOHA), Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF), Council on the Ageing (COTA)

During the first two workshops, the Stakeholder Group facilitated by HealthConsult, provided guidance for the development of the next NOHP. Many parts of the previous NOHP remain appropriate such as the aim to target improved oral health outcomes by addressing the disparities in access to oral healthcare, especially among identified priority populations including people who are socially disadvantaged or on low incomes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people living in rural and remote areas and people with additional or specialised healthcare needs.
 

ADIA wins on the board

Membership of the NOHP stakeholder group has provided ADIA with two significant wins: Firstly, it was the first time that ADIA took a seat at the table as we were not represented in the development of Healthy Mouths, Health Lives: Australia’s National Oral Health Plan 2015-2024 or previous plans. This has resulted from ADIA’ s strategic stakeholder relationship plan building strong ties with policymakers, the Department and other key health organisations.

Secondly, this opportunity has provided the platform to profile the use of innovative oral health technology to reform oral health service provision into the future. Dr Raphael highlighted with the group, the important place for technology and informatics in enabling improvements in oral health outcomes in Australia over the next decade.

The final workshop, scheduled for March 2025 will then focus on the review and refinement of the draft NOPH that is being developed by the Department, following these first two workshops. Final approval of the NOHP will ultimately be from the Health Ministers’ Meeting.   

We will keep you informed of the progress over the coming months. If you would like to provide feedback or find out more about the NOHP or other ADIA advocacy initiatives, please contact us at advocacy@adia.org.au or call Dr Sarah Raphael on 02 8399 8707.

Wishing you a safe and happy festive season!