Is your child eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS)? The 2026 checks, the $1,158 cap and how to claim

A child is eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule in 2026 if three things are true in the same calendar year: they are aged 0 to 17 on at least one day of the year, they are on a Medicare card, and they — or a parent or carer — receive an eligible Australian Government payment such as Family Tax Benefit Part A at least once that year. If all three hold, Medicare pays for up to $1,158 of basic dental services per child over a two-calendar-year period, and if the dentist bulk-bills, there is nothing to pay.

You will see local dental clinics advertise this on Facebook — "Is your child eligible for CDBS? Book today" — because it fills their chairs. That's fine, but the eligibility rule is the government's, not the clinic's, so here it is straight from the Guide to the CDBS (version 14, effective 1 January 2026) and the Services Australia factsheet, checked again at the source on 16 September 2026.

Key takeaways

• Three checks, all in the same calendar year: aged 0–17 on any day of the year, on a Medicare card, and a family receiving an eligible Centrelink or Veterans' Affairs payment (Family Tax Benefit Part A is the common one).
• Worth up to $1,158 per child over two calendar years, for a child whose first eligible service is in 2026. The cap is indexed every 1 January.
• Covers the basics: check-ups, x-rays, cleaning, fissure sealing, fillings, root canals, extractions and partial dentures. Not braces, cosmetic work or anything done in hospital.
• Bulk-billed means free. A bulk-billing dentist must accept the CDBS benefit as full payment and cannot charge a co-payment. Public dental clinics bulk-bill; some private practices do, others charge a gap — ask before you book.
• Check in two minutes in myGov: Medicare → History and statements → Child Dental Benefits Schedule. Or ask the dentist, or call Services Australia on 132 011.

The three eligibility checks

1. Age. The child must be aged 0 to 17 "at any point in the calendar year". A child who turns 18 in March 2026 is still eligible for the whole of 2026 — the guide is explicit that one day is enough.

2. Medicare. The child must be eligible for Medicare and listed on a Medicare card. Children on a parent's card qualify.

3. A family payment. The child, or a parent, guardian or carer, must receive an eligible Centrelink or Department of Veterans' Affairs payment at least once in the calendar year. Family Tax Benefit Part A is the common one, but it is not the only one. Services Australia's full list, checked 16 September 2026:

• Paid to a parent, carer or guardian: Family Tax Benefit Part A, Parenting Payment, Double Orphan Pension.
• Paid to the child or teenager themselves: ABSTUDY, Family Tax Benefit Part A, Carer Payment, Disability Support Pension, Parenting Payment, Special Benefit, Youth Allowance, or a Veterans' Affairs education allowance under the Veterans' Children Education Scheme or the MRCA Education and Training Scheme (those two for 16–17 year olds).
• Paid to a teenager's partner: Family Tax Benefit Part A or Parenting Payment.

One timing trap worth knowing if you take FTB Part A as a lump sum rather than fortnightly: the dental benefit does not start in the year you are paid. It starts on 1 January after the financial year the lump sum covers.

If you receive FTB Part A, Services Australia normally writes to tell you your child is eligible at the start of the year. No letter doesn't mean no eligibility — check myGov.

How much is it worth, and over what period

The cap is $1,158 per child for a child whose two-calendar-year period begins in 2026. The two years are calendar years, not 24 months from the first visit: a first eligible service in October 2026 gives you until 31 December 2027 to use the cap, not until October 2028. When the period ends, a new two-year period starts with the next eligible service, at whatever the cap is then.

The cap is indexed each 1 January, and the rise reaches only children whose first eligible service falls in that new year. Two cohorts are live right now, and it is worth knowing which one your child is in:

So two siblings can genuinely sit on different caps at the same time — a child who first went to the dentist under the scheme in 2025 keeps $1,132 until the end of this year, while a sibling starting in 2026 has $1,158 running a year longer. Both figures are set in the regulations, not by the clinic.

Unused benefit does not carry forward past the end of the two-year period. If a child needs only two check-ups and a clean, most of the cap simply goes unused — which is normal, and why the cap comfortably covers a filling or extraction when one is needed.

What the CDBS covers, and what it doesn't

The schedule pays for basic dental services: examinations, x-rays, cleaning, fissure sealing, fillings, root canals, extractions and partial dentures. It does not pay for orthodontics (braces and aligners), cosmetic dental work, or any service provided in a hospital.

That exclusion matters at the check-up: if the dentist recommends orthodontic treatment, that is a separate, unsubsidised quote, and no amount of unused CDBS cap can be put towards it.

One more piece of fine print: CDBS services do not count towards either the Medicare Safety Net or the Extended Medicare Safety Net. Using the dental benefit will not bring your family closer to a safety-net threshold for the rest of the year.

Bulk-billed or gap fee? Ask before you book

This is the question the clinic ads don't answer. Under the schedule a dentist can:

• Bulk-bill, in which case they accept the CDBS benefit as full payment and, in the words of the guide, "by law, you cannot charge the patient a co-payment". You pay nothing and you don't need to make a claim — the dentist claims from Medicare.
• Charge privately, in which case the practice must have you sign a consent form before treatment that documents any out-of-pocket cost. You then pay the gap.

Public dental clinics bulk-bill CDBS with no out-of-pocket cost. Private practices vary: some bulk-bill in full, some charge a gap. The one question to ask when booking is "Do you bulk-bill the CDBS in full, with no gap?" — and if the answer is yes, ask them to confirm eligibility on the day, since they can check it with Medicare before treatment starts.

One more limit: once a child's cap is used up, the benefit stops and you pay the dentist's normal fee for the rest of that period. Ask the practice how much of the cap the planned treatment will use.

How to check eligibility in two minutes

1. Sign in to myGov and open Medicare.
2. Go to History and statements and choose Child Dental Benefits Schedule. It shows whether each child is eligible and how much of the cap remains.
3. No myGov access? Call Services Australia on 132 011, or simply ask the dental practice — they can check before the appointment.

How to use it

1. Confirm eligibility (above).
2. Find a dentist who bulk-bills the CDBS — your state's public dental service does; many private practices near schools do too.
3. Book, and mention the CDBS when you do. Bring the child's Medicare card.
4. If the practice bulk-bills, you leave without paying and without a claim form. If it charges privately, you'll sign the consent form first and pay the gap on the day.

Why you're seeing this on Facebook

Dental clinics promote the CDBS because it turns an eligible child into a fully funded appointment — good for the practice, and genuinely good for the child, since the schedule exists precisely because low-income families skip children's dental care. Just keep the two halves separate: the government decides whether your child is eligible; the clinic decides whether it bulk-bills. Use the myGov check for the first and the phone call for the second.

The rest of the family money for school-age kids

The CDBS uses the same eligibility signal — Family Tax Benefit Part A — as most other school-age support, so if your child qualifies here, check the others:

• Kids' sport and activity vouchers — every state except the ACT runs one, worth $100 to $500 a year; NSW, Victoria, WA and Tasmania means-test on the same cards and payments, so the card that unlocks the CDBS usually unlocks these too. They are claimed through your state's own scheme, and spent with the clubs and classes in kids' activities near you.
• Back-to-school payments and allowances — $200 to $750 per student in five states and territories, fee waivers in two. What's still open this year.
• Before- and after-school care — the Child Care Subsidy's 3-Day Guarantee applies to school-age outside-school-hours care. How it changed in 2026.
• And once the money is sorted, the kids' activities near your school are where the vouchers get spent.

Frequently asked questions

Is the CDBS the same as free dental at school? No. School dental vans and public dental clinics are state programs; the CDBS is a Medicare benefit you can use at any participating dentist, public or private. Public clinics usually bulk-bill it.

Do both parents need to be on a payment? No — one parent, guardian or carer receiving an eligible payment at least once in the calendar year is enough, and the child themself receiving one also counts.

Can I use the cap on two children? The cap is per child. Each eligible child has their own $1,158 over their own two-year period.

Does it cover a mouthguard or a check-up for sport? A check-up, yes — examinations are covered. A custom mouthguard is not on the covered list; ask the practice whether it can be included in a covered service or quoted separately.

What if my dentist says my child isn't eligible but myGov says they are? Trust Medicare's record. Ask the practice to re-check with Services Australia, or call 132 011 and have the confirmation ready when you book.

The $1,158 cap applies to a child whose two-year period begins in 2026; a period that began in 2025 is capped at $1,132. Every figure, rule and list above was re-checked at the source on 16 September 2026. The scheme now runs under the Dental Benefits Rules 2026, which replaced the Dental Benefits Rules 2014 on 19 February 2026 — the caps are set in its Schedule 2 and the earlier $1,132 figure in the 2024 amending rules. Eligibility, covered services and the payment list were also checked against Services Australia's own pages (last updated 15 April 2026) and the Department of Health's Guide to the CDBS, version 14. Note that Guide v14 is dated January 2026 and so predates the current rules; where the two could differ on procedure, the rules govern. The cap is indexed each 1 January and the rise reaches only children whose first eligible service falls in the new year, so re-check before quoting this in 2027.