Victorian election 2026 pledges: Labor's 20 free dental clinics and the Coalition's tougher workplace protection orders, explained

By The Rundowns News Desk · Published 1 November 2026

Victoria's state election campaign has entered its final four weeks, and both major parties opened Sunday 1 November with cost-of-living and safety pitches. Premier Ben Carroll says a re-elected Labor government would build 20 free dental clinics, double the 10 it promised in August. Opposition Leader Jess Wilson says a Coalition government would toughen Victoria's new workplace protection orders, including bans that apply straight away. Here's what each pledge actually says, where the clinics would go, and what's still unclear.

Key dates

• Enrolment closes: 8pm Tuesday 3 November (see our enrolment explainer).
• Early voting opens: Wednesday 18 November.
• Election day: Saturday 28 November.

The ABC reports more than 4.6 million Victorians are on the roll (ABC News).

Labor's pledge: 20 free dental clinics

ABC News, AAP and The Age all report that Carroll is expanding his August promise of 10 public clinics offering free dental care to 20 clinics, open to Victorians of any age. AAP reports the clinics would open from July 2027 and treat an estimated 200,000 people a year (AAP). The Age says they would start opening from the middle of 2027 (The Age).

"No Victorian should ever have to live in pain because they can't afford to see a dentist," Carroll said in a statement quoted by all three outlets.

Where the clinics would go

Labor has named the local government areas, not exact sites. Six would be regional and 14 in Melbourne, as reported by the ABC and The Age:

• Regional Victoria: Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Latrobe (Latrobe Valley), Mildura and Shepparton.
• Melbourne: Banyule, Brimbank, Cardinia, Casey, Dandenong, Frankston, Hume, Maribyrnong, Melton, Monash, Whittlesea, Wyndham, Yarra and Yarra Ranges.

Health Minister Ingrid Stitt told The Age the clinics would go to areas with longer public dental waiting times. Most of the Melbourne areas are in the growing outer suburbs.

What it would cost: the figures don't match yet

The reported price differs. The ABC and AAP put the cost at $230 million. The Age reports $460 million. Labor's own policy page for the original 10-clinic plan also lists $230 million (Victorian Labor), so it's not yet clear whether $230 million is the cost of the doubled plan or of the original one. We'll update this when Labor publishes costings or the Parliamentary Budget Office reports.

The Age also reports a $5 million package of sign-on bonuses for dentists who join the public sector: $20,000 in Melbourne and $30,000 in the regions. That's on top of the $12.9 million workforce commitment from August.

The criticism

The Age reports that the Australian Dental Association's Victorian branch criticised the original plan in August. It argued that opening free care to everyone could lengthen waits for the more than 2 million low-income or vulnerable Victorians already eligible for public dental care, some of whom wait up to three years. It also questioned staffing, saying publicly funded dental chairs were running at about half capacity because of workforce shortages. Whether the new sign-on bonuses address that is the open question.

The Coalition's pledge: tougher workplace protection orders

Wilson says a Coalition government would "strengthen, expand and expedite" workplace protection orders, which ban people who abuse or assault workers from a workplace. According to the ABC and The Age, the plan would:

• Add interim orders, so an offender can be barred straight away while a final order is decided. The Age describes these as interim bans while alleged offenders await trial.
• Let Victoria Police apply for orders on behalf of victims.
• Cover more workplaces, extending the scheme to all commercial, hospitality and service premises where workers deal with the public.
• Start on 1 February 2027, with the legislation in the first batch of bills when Parliament resumes after the election (ABC).

How that compares with the current law

Labor already legislated workplace protection orders this year. Carroll announced them at a Kmart on his first full day as premier. The scheme lets courts ban or limit a person's access to a workplace for up to 12 months if they assault, abuse, intimidate or stalk retail, fast-food, hospitality or transport workers. Breaches carry up to two years' jail or a $50,000 fine (Convenience World, upstart).

The gap the Coalition is targeting is interim orders. After the law passed, the Australian Retail Council, Coles and Woolworths criticised it for not including them, pointing to South Australia and the ACT, which have them. The government said interim orders weren't needed because it had lowered the threshold for a final order (Inside Retail). Inside Retail also reported that the start date had been brought forward from July 2027 to March. We've seen that only in Inside Retail, so treat it as single-source until the government confirms the date.

Why it matters

Both pledges are aimed at outer-suburban and regional voters, where polling shows Labor under pressure. AAP notes the latest Roy Morgan poll has the Coalition on 29.5% of the primary vote, Labor on 22.5% and One Nation on 22%. Our polls explainer covers the wider numbers and the four-leader forum on 17 November.

What's next

• Exact clinic sites and a confirmed cost for the 20-clinic plan.
• Whether Labor responds by adding interim orders to its own scheme.
• More pledges as the campaign heads into early voting on 18 November. We'll add major ones here.

The Rundowns News is independent and not affiliated with any party. Pledges are as announced by the parties and reported by the linked outlets; none is government policy unless legislated.