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Discectomy waiting times in Australia

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

National median wait (public)41 days2024-07-01 – 2025-06-30

Public hospitals reporting30with 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	29 days
Qld	37 days
NSW	56 days
WA	62 days

Shortest waits at public hospitals

The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for discectomy, out of 30 reporting.

Hospital	State	Local health network	Median wait	Operations in the year
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital	NSW	Sydney	16 days	58
Monash Medical Centre [Clayton]	Vic	Monash Health	21 days	59
St George Hospital NSW	NSW	South Eastern Sydney	22 days	50
Mater Adult Hospital	Qld	Not applicable	24 days	174
Royal Darwin Hospital	NT	NT Regional Health Services (NTRHS)	26 days	20
Gold Coast University Hospital	Qld	Gold Coast	29 days	39
Royal Melbourne Hospital [City Campus]	Vic	Melbourne Health	30 days	85
Osborne Park Hospital	WA	North Metropolitan Health Service (WA)	30 days	10
Joondalup Health Campus (Public)	WA	North Metropolitan Health Service (WA)	30 days	25
The Alfred	Vic	Alfred Health (Vic)	32 days	50
Townsville University Hospital	Qld	Townsville	33 days	56
Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital [Heidelberg West]	Vic	Austin Health (Vic)	39 days	18
Royal Adelaide Hospital	SA	Central Adelaide	39 days	21
Austin Hospital [Heidelberg]	Vic	Austin Health (Vic)	41 days	45
Cairns Hospital	Qld	Cairns and Hinterland	42 days	12

Common questions

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

Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for discectomy waited 41 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 29 days (Vic) to 62 days (WA).

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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