Budget Savings Bill and the CDBS

The Federal Government’s legislation to achieve $6 billion in savings includes replacing the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS)with the Child and Adult Public Dental Scheme.

The 252-page Budget Savings (Omnibus) Bill 2016 contains 24 measures to achieve the savings.

The Australian Dental Association advocated for the retention of the CDBS, saying that more than 1.5 million children have received over 10 million services under the program. The Association maintains that public dental services will be under-resourced under the new scheme.

The Treasurer, Mr Morrison (right) said in the Second Reading speech: “The Bill simply brings forward outlays savings measures that were incorporated into Labor’s fiscal projections at the last election”. The Bill will be debated next week.