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General surgery waiting times in Australia

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

National median wait (public)35 days2024-07-01 – 2025-06-30

Public hospitals reporting235with 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	27 days
NT	30 days
Qld	31 days
SA	34 days
Tas	40 days
WA	42 days
NSW	45 days
ACT	66 days

Shortest waits at public hospitals

The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for general surgery operations, out of 235 reporting.

Hospital	State	Local health network	Median wait	Operations in the year
Thursday Island Hospital	Qld	Torres and Cape	1 days	40
Weipa Hospital	Qld	Torres and Cape	1 days	15
Loxton Hospital Complex	SA	Riverland Mallee Coorong	7 days	12
Sydney Children's Hospital	NSW	Sydney Children's Hospitals Network	8 days	55
Kangaroo Island Health Service	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	8 days	50
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre	Vic	Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (Vic)	12 days	935
Mount Isa Base Hospital	Qld	North West (Qld)	12 days	360
Ceduna District Health Service	SA	Eyre and Far North	13 days	28
South Coast District Hospital	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	13 days	148
Maroondah Hospital [East Ringwood]	Vic	Eastern Health (Vic)	14 days	849
Monash Medical Centre [Moorabbin]	Vic	Monash Health	14 days	653
Kapunda Hospital	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	14 days	14
Cooktown Hospital	Qld	Torres and Cape	15 days	20
Moree Hospital	NSW	Hunter New England	16 days	49
University Hospital Geelong	Vic	Barwon Health	16 days	1,408

Common questions

How long is the public waiting list for general surgery operations in Australia?

Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for general surgery operations waited 35 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 27 days (Vic) to 66 days (ACT).

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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