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Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion) waiting times in Australia

How long public patients wait for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion), at each public hospital and in each state — official AIHW figures, checked daily.

National median wait (public)106 days2024-07-01 – 2025-06-30

Public hospitals reporting132with a published median

As a public patientFreeunder Medicare

As a private patientAsk for a quotefees vary by surgeon and hospital

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Median wait by state and territory

State / territory	Median wait
Vic	68 days
Qld	82 days
WA	82 days
SA	84 days
Tas	99 days
NT	162 days
NSW	268 days

Shortest waits at public hospitals

The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion), out of 132 reporting.

Hospital	State	Local health network	Median wait	Operations in the year
Latrobe Regional Hospital [Traralgon]	Vic	Latrobe Regional Hospital	1 days	934
Goulburn Valley Health [Shepparton]	Vic	Goulburn Valley Health	3 days	131
Thursday Island Hospital	Qld	Torres and Cape	4 days	44
Weipa Hospital	Qld	Torres and Cape	5 days	97
Ceduna District Health Service	SA	Eyre and Far North	6 days	10
Port Lincoln Health Service	SA	Eyre and Far North	17 days	274
South Coast District Hospital	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	17 days	616
Ballarat Health Services [Base Hospital]	Vic	Grampians Health	21 days	111
Northern Yorke Peninsula Health Service (Wallaroo)	SA	Yorke and Northern	21 days	348
St John of God Midland Public Hospital	WA	East Metropolitan Health Service (WA)	23 days	1,308
Bass Coast Health	Vic	Bass Coast Regional Health	27 days	594
Royal Children's Hospital [Parkville]	Vic	Royal Children's Hospital (Melbourne)	27 days	32
Northam Hospital	WA	WA Country Health Service	27 days	179
University Hospital Geelong	Vic	Barwon Health	29 days	1,750
Perth Children's Hospital	WA	Child Adolescent Health Service (WA)	35 days	25

Common questions

How long is the public waiting list for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion) in Australia?

Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion) waited 106 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 68 days (Vic) to 268 days (NSW).

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.

Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) — MyHospitals, elective surgery waiting times, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30. All data sources.

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