Dental Practice Board of Victoria

Full description

Establishment

The Dental Practice Board of Victoria was established on 1 July 2000 with the proclamation of the Dental Practice Act 1999 (No. 26/1999). The Act provided for the registration of dental care providers including dentists and specialists, dental prosthetists (formerly advanced dental technicians), dental therapists and dental hygienists. (Previous agency refer to VPRS 1343).

Formation and Membership of the Board

The Board was made up of 11 members, each nominated by the Minister for Health and appointed by the Governor in Council. This consisted of five registered dentists (of whom at least one had to also be a registered dental specialist), two registered dental prosthetists, one registered dental auxiliary, two persons who are not registered dental providers and one lawyer.

In 2007 the Board structure changed with the passing of the Health Professions Registration Act 2005. The Act established a board with at least 9 and not more than 12 members, with half of the members to be registered dentists, 1 lawyer and 3 members who were not registered dentists.

Functions

The Dental Practice Act 1999 defined the Board's functions as follows:

* To register persons who complied with the requirements of the Act

* To approve courses and training

* To regulate the standards of practice of dental care providers

* To investigate the professional conduct or fitness to practise of registered dental care providers and registered dental students and impose sanctions where necessary

* To proclaim Codes about the practice of dentistry

* To issue guidelines about the minimum terms and conditions of insurance against civil liability in connection with the practice of dental care providers

* To issue guidelines on appropriate standards of practice of dental care providers, and recognised educational, training or research institutions for the purposes of the Act.

In October 2002, the Victorian Department of Human Services commenced a review of the regulatory framework governing the registered health professions in Victoria. The review provided the opportunity not only to update all of the health practitioner registration Acts, but also to review the Victorian model of health practitioner regulation to ensure that the legislative framework satisfactorily equipped the registration boards to protect the public and address emerging challenges in the regulation of the health professions. The review resulted in the passage of the Health Professions Registration Act 2005, which came into operation on 1 July 2007. The key outcome was a single legislative framework that incorporated all of the relevant health professions and established a new registration board for each profession. Additional functions of the Board are subject to further research.

Abolition

The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Victoria) Act 2009 (No. 79 of 2009) came into operation on 1 July 2010. The purpose of his Act was to provide for the adoption of a national law to establish a national registration and accreditation scheme for health practitioners. The Act prescribed the establishment of 14 new National Boards, 10 of which commenced on 1 July 2010. The National Boards may establish a State or Territory Board, where members are to be appointed by the responsible Minister for the participating jurisdiction.

The Health Professions Registration Act 2005 (No. 97/2005) was amended as a consequence of the enactment of the Health Practitioner Regulation Law (Victoria) Act 2009 (No. 79 of 2009). The piece of legislation that enabled these amendments was the Statute Law Amendment (National Health Practitioner Regulation) Act 2010 (No. 13 of 2010), proclaimed in the Government Gazette on 30 March 2010. The purposes of this Act included the abolition of the Dental Practice Board of Victoria and the removal of any references to this board.