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Ophthalmology waiting times in Australia

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

National median wait (public)92 days2024-07-01 – 2025-06-30

Public hospitals reporting141with 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	62 days
WA	66 days
Qld	73 days
SA	78 days
Tas	89 days
ACT	123 days
NT	147 days
NSW	224 days

Shortest waits at public hospitals

The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for ophthalmology operations, out of 141 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	59
Weipa Hospital	Qld	Torres and Cape	5 days	101
Ceduna District Health Service	SA	Eyre and Far North	6 days	10
Port Lincoln Health Service	SA	Eyre and Far North	17 days	281
South Coast District Hospital	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	17 days	657
Northern Yorke Peninsula Health Service (Wallaroo)	SA	Yorke and Northern	21 days	349
St John of God Midland Public Hospital	WA	East Metropolitan Health Service (WA)	24 days	1,628
Bass Coast Health	Vic	Bass Coast Regional Health	26 days	621
Northam Hospital	WA	WA Country Health Service	27 days	204
Ballarat Health Services [Base Hospital]	Vic	Grampians Health	28 days	183
Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital	WA	North Metropolitan Health Service (WA)	29 days	749
University Hospital Geelong	Vic	Barwon Health	30 days	2,177
Karratha Health Campus	WA	WA Country Health Service	35 days	106

Common questions

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

Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for ophthalmology operations waited 92 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 62 days (Vic) to 224 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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