page_title: Fluoridation by country
section_title: Australia
hierarchical_section_title: Fluoridation by country / Oceania / Australia
caption_attribution_description: English: This is an estimation of the access the Australian population has to fluoridated water. Percentages are publicly reported by each of the States.
context_page_description: Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay, and is handled differently by country. Fluoridated water has fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding fluoride. Fluoridated water operates on tooth surfaces: in the mouth it creates low levels of fluoride in saliva, which reduces the rate at which tooth enamel demineralizes and increases the rate at which it remineralizes in the early stages of cavities. Typically a fluoridated compound is added to drinking water, a process that in the U.S. costs an average of about $1.11 per person-year. Defluoridation is needed when the naturally occurring fluoride level exceeds recommended limits. In 2011 the World Health Organization suggested a level of fluoride from 0.5 to 1.5 mg/L, depending on climate, local environment, and other sources of fluoride. Bottled water typically has unknown fluoride levels.
  Dental caries remains a major public health concern in most industrialized countries, affecting 60–90% of schoolchildren and the vast majority of adults.
context_section_description: Australia now provides fluoridated water for 70% or more of the population in all states and territories. Many of Australia's drinking water supplies began fluoridation in the 1960s and 1970s. By 1984 almost 66% of the Australian population had access to fluoridated drinking water, represented by 850 towns and cities. Some areas within Australia have natural fluoride levels in the groundwater, which was estimated in 1991 to provide drinking water to approximately 0.9% of the population.
  The first town to fluoridate the water supply in Australia was Beaconsfield, Tasmania in 1953. Queensland became the last state to formally require the addition of fluoride to public drinking water supplies in December 2008.
caption: Australian residents served with community water fluoridation, 2005[150] and 2012. The percentages are the proportions of the resident population served by public water supplies who are receiving fluoridated water.
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