The headlines are about towns dropping fluoride. But in several states, the map is moving the other way, mostly without much public debate.
Western Australia
WA's Health Minister can direct fluoridation on the advice of an expert committee, and the state has been using that power. WA Health says coverage is now about 94%.
- Newman: from September 2023.
- Bunbury: from 2024.
- Capel and Donnybrook: from June 2025.
- Denmark: from October 2025.
New South Wales
- Gunnedah: dosing began on 11 March 2024 after a new $8 million treatment plant, more than six years after the council voted for it.
- Bermagui (Brogo supply): from 3 March 2025, also covering Quaama, Cobargo and Wallaga Lake.
- Ashford: from May 2025.
- Molong, Cumnock and Yeoval: targeted for 30 October 2026, pending approvals.
- Uralla: NSW Health minutes from May 2026 note two treatment staff starting fluoride operator training.
Queensland and Victoria
- Toowoomba: on 21 July 2026, council decided its new Greenmount plant (Cambooya, Clifton, Nobby) will fluoridate.
- Stawell and St Arnaud (Vic): Northern Grampians council voted in May 2025 to request fluoridation.
- Portland, Port Fairy and Heywood (Vic): a $52.2 million upgrade will add reverse osmosis, which strips the natural fluoride, plus plants to add fluoride back.
- Daylesford (Vic): targeted "by 2030" under the state's oral health plan.
Tasmania
Bicheno and Scamander, both unfluoridated in 2016, have since started dosing under a Health Minister directive.
These towns are all on the map. If your town is about to start or stop, tell us.