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Craniotomy waiting times in Australia

How long public patients wait for craniotomy, at each public hospital and in each state — official AIHW figures, checked daily.

National median wait (public)20 days2024-07-01 – 2025-06-30

Public hospitals reporting25with 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
NSW	15 days
Vic	20 days

Shortest waits at public hospitals

The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for craniotomy, out of 25 reporting.

Hospital	State	Local health network	Median wait	Operations in the year
Sydney Children's Hospital	NSW	Sydney Children's Hospitals Network	2 days	12
The Children's Hospital at Westmead	NSW	Sydney Children's Hospitals Network	8 days	37
Wollongong Hospital	NSW	Illawarra Shoalhaven	8 days	40
Townsville University Hospital	Qld	Townsville	8 days	16
Queensland Children's Hospital	Qld	Children's Health Queensland	8 days	11
Concord Repatriation Hospital	NSW	Sydney	10 days	22
Westmead Hospital	NSW	Western Sydney	12 days	76
Austin Hospital [Heidelberg]	Vic	Austin Health (Vic)	14 days	92
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital	NSW	Sydney	16 days	86
St George Hospital NSW	NSW	South Eastern Sydney	16 days	20
Monash Medical Centre [Clayton]	Vic	Monash Health	17 days	138
Liverpool Hospital	NSW	South Western Sydney	18 days	59
St Vincent's Hospital [Darlinghurst]	NSW	St Vincent's Health Network	20 days	18
Royal Melbourne Hospital [City Campus]	Vic	Melbourne Health	20 days	203
The Alfred	Vic	Alfred Health (Vic)	22 days	205

Common questions

How long is the public waiting list for craniotomy in Australia?

Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for craniotomy waited 20 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 15 days (NSW) to 20 days (Vic).

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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