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Orthopaedic surgery waiting times in Australia

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

National median wait (public)86 days2024-07-01 – 2025-06-30

Public hospitals reporting177with 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
NT	55 days
Vic	60 days
Qld	77 days
SA	77 days
WA	89 days
Tas	102 days
NSW	150 days
ACT	169 days

Shortest waits at public hospitals

The 15 public hospitals with the shortest median wait for orthopaedic surgery operations, out of 177 reporting.

Hospital	State	Local health network	Median wait	Operations in the year
Dandenong Hospital	Vic	Monash Health	5 days	1,115
St Vincent's Hospital [Darlinghurst]	NSW	St Vincent's Health Network	9 days	588
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital	NSW	Sydney	10 days	451
Western Hospital [Footscray]	Vic	Western Health (Vic)	10 days	575
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre	Vic	Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute (Vic)	15 days	199
Gawler Health Service	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	15 days	246
Sunshine Hospital	Vic	Western Health (Vic)	17 days	253
Flinders Medical Centre	SA	Southern Adelaide	17 days	608
Millicent and District Hospital and Health Service	SA	Limestone Coast	21 days	21
Princess Alexandra Hospital	Qld	Metro South (Qld)	23 days	1,797
Liverpool Hospital	NSW	South Western Sydney	25 days	182
Angaston District Hospital	SA	Barossa Hills Fleurieu	25 days	29
Queanbeyan Hospital	NSW	Southern NSW	28 days	93
Port Augusta Hospital and Regional Health Services	SA	Flinders and Upper North	29 days	96
Hedland Health Campus	WA	WA Country Health Service	29 days	19

Common questions

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

Half of patients admitted from public hospital waiting lists for orthopaedic surgery operations waited 86 days or less (national median, 2024-07-01 to 2025-06-30). By state it ranged from 55 days (NT) to 169 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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