Adult restorative programme approved for Aotearoa New Zealand registrants

Melbourne University applied to the Council to accredit its Graduate Certificate in Dental Therapy (Advanced Clinical Practice) programme (GCDT-ACP). The accreditation review took place in July 2022. The accreditation report is available on our website

Accreditation was approved for the Melbourne GCDT-ACP as an adult restorative programme for the:

  • Oral health therapy scope of practice, and 
  • Adult care in dental therapy scope of practice under the category of clinical guidance.

This means that on successful completion of the GCDT-ACP programme:

  • oral health therapists can apply to have the adult restorative exclusion removed from their scope of practice
  • dental therapists can apply for the adult care in dental therapy scope of practice and provide restorative care to adults under clinical guidance.

Completion of the programme does not change the underlying scope of practice—it allows for the same restorative procedures to be performed on patients over the age of 18 years. Following successful completion of the programme, practitioners must apply to the Council to have the exclusion removed from their scope of practice, prior to providing restorative care to patients over 18 years old.