Opens in a new tab

Dental Assistants

Dental Assistants prepare patients for dental examination and assist Dental Practitioners, Hygienists and Therapists in providing care and treatment.

HealthLicensed workANZSCO 4232
$1,211/wkMedian full-time pay
27kPeople employed
+27% ▲Growth to 2035
42%Work full time
30Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4232.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

receiving and preparing patientsarranging and handing instruments, medication, and other dental requisites to dental practitionerspreparing dental materials and processing x-raysusing suction devices and water spraysperforming routine maintenance on equipmentsterilising and preventing cross infection of equipment
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 4232 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 7,000 more people in dental assistants by 2035 ▲

The field shrank 5.4% in the year to February 2026, losing about 1,600 workers. Most of the jobs are in NSW and VIC, with QLD third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4232.More about our sources: How we check our facts
26.1k2025
29.9k2030 PROJ.
33.1k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

There is no single way in. 49% trained through VET, 16% hold a degree.

Both paths are common in this field. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 4232. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

HLT35021Certificate III

Certificate III in Dental Assisting

Health.

See 26 providers
HLT45021Certificate IV

Certificate IV in Dental Assisting

Health · licensed work.

See 19 providers

Licensed work: several of these courses lead to work that also needs a state or territory licence. Training is the first step; licensing rules are set by each state.

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

27k Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4232.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

NSW8.4k
VIC7.2k
QLD6.6k
WA3.1k
SA2k
TAS0.6k
ACT0.6k
NT0.2k

Occupations near this one

Close to this work but not quite it? Each one has its own page like this.