Advocacy Kit

NZDA advocacy approach  for the 2026 election:  What do we want?   

In advance of the General Election 2026, NZDA has developed an advocacy strategy that aims to: 

  • Encourage the incoming Government to recognise the fundamental importance of oral health of all New Zealanders, and include it as one of the country’s general health policy priorities.  

  • Help design and actively promote policy settings that support NZDA members and the wider dental workforce to deliver services in an operating environment that is both sustainable and equitable.  

  • Tangibly improve access to oral health care for New Zealanders, while enhancing public and policy perceptions of the dental profession.  

 Our message to Government is clear:  

The NZDA Roadmap Towards Better Oral Health for New Zealanders provides a clear, evidence-based ‘blueprint’ of practical solutions Government can put in place now to fix the poor state of oral health affecting so many New Zealanders. 

We need your help

Over the coming months, as we ramp up our advocacy, we encourage members to:  

  1. Engage locally with MPs and candidates to share our advocacy messages and to tell your own stories about the oral health condition of the patients you see in your communities. Please respect people’s privacy.

  2. Help us collect actual patient case studies that highlight the problems New Zealanders experience with their oral health via the NZDA Advocacy Portal.

  3. Amplify the narrative. Use our PREP talking points and your own channels to promote and draw attention to NZDA’s policy positions and the Roadmap. Our talking points are here.

  4. Attend political meetings to raise these issues with Party representatives and spokespeople. 

  5. If you want help or advice re a specific advocacy issue, contact...  

Talking points 

Further supporting our strategy and advocacy positions, we have created ‘talking points’, or key messages, that provide useful explanatory soundbites for each policy position. We have used the PREP formula to craft these messages:  

  • What’s your Point? 

  • Give a Reason for it. 

  • Provide an Example to illustrate your point/reason. 

  • Repeat your point using a Paraphrase.