FairWaitBreast lump - excision and/or biopsy waiting times in Australia
How long public patients wait for breast lump - excision and/or biopsy, at each public hospital and in each state — official AIHW figures, checked daily.
Median wait by state and territory
| State / territory | Median wait |
|---|---|
| Vic | 14 days |
| NSW | 19 days |
| WA | 19 days |
| Qld | 20 days |
| SA | 20 days |
| Tas | 22 days |
Shortest waits at public hospitals
The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for breast lump - excision and/or biopsy, out of 105 reporting.
| Hospital | State | Local health network | Median wait | Operations in the year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Vincent's On the Park | Vic | St Vincent's Hospital (Melbourne) Limited | 6 days | 26 |
| St Vincent's Hospital [Melbourne] | Vic | St Vincent's Hospital (Melbourne) Limited | 7 days | 133 |
| Box Hill Hospital | Vic | Eastern Health (Vic) | 9 days | 18 |
| Maroondah Hospital [East Ringwood] | Vic | Eastern Health (Vic) | 9 days | 358 |
| The Alfred | Vic | Alfred Health (Vic) | 9 days | 115 |
| Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre | Vic | Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (Vic) | 10 days | 267 |
| Joondalup Health Campus (Public) | WA | North Metropolitan Health Service (WA) | 11 days | 55 |
| Wollongong Hospital | NSW | Illawarra Shoalhaven | 12 days | 120 |
| Bass Coast Health | Vic | Bass Coast Regional Health | 12 days | 34 |
| Latrobe Regional Hospital [Traralgon] | Vic | Latrobe Regional Hospital | 12 days | 100 |
| Casey Hospital | Vic | Monash Health | 12 days | 13 |
| Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital | NSW | Northern Sydney | 13 days | 49 |
| Royal North Shore Hospital | NSW | Northern Sydney | 13 days | 122 |
| Bathurst Base Hospital | NSW | Western NSW | 13 days | 25 |
| Royal Melbourne Hospital [City Campus] | Vic | Melbourne Health | 13 days | 229 |
Common questions
How long is the public waiting list for breast lump - excision and/or biopsy in Australia?
Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for breast lump - excision and/or biopsy waited 17 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 14 days (Vic) to 22 days (Tas).
Can I avoid the wait?
As a private patient you choose your surgeon and usually wait less, but you pay fees, partly covered by Medicare and any private health insurance. Private hospitals don't publish waiting times. See typical costs on the Medical Costs Finder.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) — MyHospitals, elective surgery waiting times, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30. Private costs: Medical Costs Finder. All data sources.