Queensland schools

Eligible on paper. That isn’t a dentist in the car park.

Every Queensland child aged four to the end of Year 10 with Medicare is eligible for free public dental care, whatever school they attend. Whether anyone actually visits your school is decided by your Hospital and Health Service. Pearly visits any school. In NSW? The rules are different.

Students at a Pearly school visit

On-site at your school

A full clinic in the van, no room needed
Consent collected and chased by us
Bulk-billed to Medicare, school never invoiced

Eligibility vs delivery

Who is eligible, and who actually gets a visit?

Eligibility attaches to the child, not the school: a Queensland resident with Medicare, aged four or over, who has not completed Year 10. No school sector is excluded. Delivery is the catch. Each Hospital and Health Service sets its own model, several now see children at clinics rather than school grounds, and visits to independent schools are uncommon.

For a family, a clinic pathway means an appointment in working hours, time off and transport. For a school, it means oral health quietly stops being something that happens at school. You cannot direct the public service to visit. You can decide what happens on your own grounds.

Sources: Gold Coast Health, Metro North Health. Verified 23 July 2026.

State school students, aged 4 to end of Year 10Eligible
Catholic school studentsEligible
Independent school studentsEligible
A van actually visiting your schoolNot guaranteed
Year 11 and 12 studentsNot eligible

After Year 10 the public school pathway ends entirely. Senior students are the least served cohort in the state.

Inside the Pearly mobile dental clinic

What Pearly runs instead

Don’t wait for the roster. Bring the clinic to you.

Pearly’s van is a self-contained dental surgery: chair, suction, air, water, power and sterilisation on board. Not a portable kit that borrows your library and a power point.

  • Any sector and any year group, kindy to Year 12
  • We need a level car park space, nothing from your buildings
  • Consent goes to parents digitally, we chase the non-responders
  • Medicare billed by us, families quoted before any private treatment
  • A written outcome home for every child, referrals handled

CDBS & funding

Free for eligible students. No cost to the school, ever.

No facility fee, no per-student charge, no minimum numbers. Pearly is funded through Medicare claiming for eligible children and quoted private fees families choose. The school is never invoiced.

Check CDBS eligibility

Fully covered · $0 to the school

$1,158

of dental care per eligible child over two consecutive calendar years under the CDBS, bulk-billed direct to Medicare. Eligibility needs a qualifying payment such as Family Tax Benefit Part A, Parenting Payment or Carer Payment.

Not eligible? Students are still seen, and families get a written quote before any treatment.

Getting started

Three steps, one term.

1

Book a 15-minute call

Suburb, sector, year levels, rough numbers. We tell you honestly whether your cohort is a fit and propose term dates.

2

We handle consent

Digital consent straight to parents with reminders and follow-up. Your office is not chasing forms.

3

The van arrives

One to three days on site. Students seen in short blocks, a written outcome for every family, and no invoice to the school.

Cleared for your site

Cleared to be on site with students in Queensland.

Every clearance an approval process asks about, held and supplied with the school agreement. Registration numbers are published and independently verifiable.

Blue Card + WWCC

Every clinician and assistant attending site holds a current Queensland Blue Card, and a WWCC for NSW work.

AHPRA registration

All clinicians registered. Numbers on our clinical team page, verifiable on the public register.

Insurance

Professional indemnity and public liability, current, certificates on request.

Infection control

Sterilisation on board the van, to clinical standard, independent of your facilities.

Child safe practice

Written policy supplied with the school agreement. A second adult is always present.

Privacy

Consent and health information handled under the Privacy Act. Nothing clinical is relayed through the school.

NSW schools

In NSW? The exclusion is structural.

The NSW public program covers public primary schools only, in 11 of 15 districts. Independent and Catholic schools are outside it by sector, whatever their need. We cover NSW separately.

Common questions

What school leaders ask us

Does the school dental van visit private schools in Queensland?

Eligibility is per child, so students at independent and Catholic schools qualify as individuals. On-site visits are a different matter: each Hospital and Health Service decides where care is delivered, and visits to independent schools are uncommon. Pearly brings the clinic to any school, in any sector.

Do we need to provide a room, power or water?

No. The clinic is inside the van and is fully self-contained, with its own chair, suction, air, water and power. A portable kit has to borrow a room and a power point. We do not.

Can you see our Year 11 and 12 students?

Yes. The public pathway ends once a student completes Year 10, so senior students are the least served cohort in the state. We schedule senior year groups in short blocks around timetables, sport and exams, and avoid exam blocks entirely.

What happens to a student whose family is not eligible for the CDBS?

They are still seen. Check-up, oral health education and emergency triage happen regardless. If treatment is needed, the family gets a written quote first and decides whether to proceed with us or their own dentist.

Is there any cost to the school, ever?

No. No facility fee, no per-student charge, no minimum numbers. The school is never invoiced.

Which parts of Queensland does Pearly visit?

Greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and Ipswich and Logan, with regional visits by arrangement. We are adding regions regularly. See our coverage page.