Surgery Waits

Cataract surgery waiting time at Murwillumbah District Hospital

Half of patients at Murwillumbah District Hospital waited 138 days or less for cataract surgery in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). The source publishes this surgery as "Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion)". This public hospital is in the South Murwillumbah area of New South Wales.

Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.

These figures describe surgery that already happened, not your own wait.

Median wait
138 days2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
Surgeries completed
642 surgeries2024–25 · released 28 May 2026
Waited more than 365 days
11.8%2024–25 · released 28 May 2026

Half the people who had this surgery here waited less than the median, and half waited longer. Of the 132 public hospitals that published a median wait for this surgery in 2024–25, this one sits at 73 when they are ordered from shortest median to longest. Hospitals with the same median share a rank.

The median wait here has fallen from 323 days in 2011–12 to 138 days in 2024–25 — down 57% — while the national median rose from 89 days to 106 days. The nearest public hospital with a shorter published wait is Robina Hospital, about 28 km away, at 77 days. Here, 11.8% of people waited more than 365 days for this surgery; nationally it was 11.5%.

Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion)" and type your suburb to see the public hospitals within reach, ordered by their published wait. Nothing you type there is kept.

How this compares

Median wait, long waits and volume for Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion), 2024–25.
Where Median wait Waited more than 365 days Surgeries
Murwillumbah District Hospital138 days11.8%642 surgeries
New South Wales (all public hospitals)268 days22.0%32695 surgeries
Queensland (all public hospitals)82 days1.9%8868 surgeries
Australia (all public hospitals)106 days11.5%87841 surgeries

Where the wait is shorter nearby

Bars show the median wait in days. The vertical line at 106 days marks the national median.

Distances are straight-line, measured between hospital locations, and are approximate. The search covered 250 km.

Some of these hospitals are in another state — a public hospital referral can cross the border, so ask your GP what that would mean for you. See also where crossing a border cuts the wait most.

How the wait has changed

Median wait for cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion) by financial year at Murwillumbah District Hospital, compared with New South Wales and Australiadays01002003004002011–122014–152017–182020–212023–242024–25Murwillumbah District Hospital 138NSW 268Australia 106
View these numbers as a table
Median wait in days for Cataract extraction (with or without intra-ocular lens insertion), by financial year. Every figure was released on 2026-05-28.
Reference periodMurwillumbah District Hospital (days)NSW (days)Australia (days)
2011–1232323389
2012–1331123889
2013–1432321879
2014–1533622183
2015–1632224093
2016–1733322485
2017–1832822387
2018–1919424584
2019–2013428698
2020–21292290172
2021–22160278158
2022–23323282133
2023–24308262119
2024–25138268106

Public hospitals only — what these figures include and leave out.

All surgery at Murwillumbah District Hospital · Cataract surgery across Australia · Cataract surgery in New South Wales · All surgery waits in New South Wales