Where crossing a state border cuts the surgery wait most

The biggest published cross-border difference in 2024–25 was 427 days: the median wait for eardrum repair was 736 days at Lismore Base Hospital in New South Wales, and 309 days at Gold Coast University Hospital, 95 km away in Queensland.

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

Public hospital waiting lists are run state by state, but referrals are not: your general practitioner (GP) can refer you to a public hospital in another state, and for people who live near a border the nearest hospital is often across it. This page ranks the places where that matters most in the published figures.

The 25 biggest published differences

Public hospitals in different states within 100 km of each other, both publishing a median wait for the same surgery in 2024–25, ranked by the difference — one row per hospital and surgery, against its best cross-border alternative. Every figure was released on 2026-05-28.
Rank	Surgery	Longer wait	Across the border	Distance	Difference
1	Eardrum repair	Lismore Base HospitalNSW · 736 days	Gold Coast University HospitalQLD · 309 days	95 km	427 days
2	Prolapse repair	Royal Brisbane & Women's HospitalQLD · 363 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 28 days	96 km	335 days
3	Prolapse repair	Ipswich HospitalQLD · 343 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 28 days	99 km	315 days
4	Prolapse repair	Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee HospitalQLD · 340 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 28 days	84 km	312 days
5	Shoulder joint replacement	Ipswich HospitalQLD · 339 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 35 days	99 km	304 days
6	Knee replacement	Royal Brisbane & Women's HospitalQLD · 384 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 97 days	96 km	287 days
7	Shoulder joint replacement	Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee HospitalQLD · 305 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 35 days	84 km	270 days
8	Dupuytren's contracture surgery	Robina HospitalQLD · 347 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 81 days	20 km	266 days
9	Dupuytren's contracture surgery	Gold Coast University HospitalQLD · 344 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 81 days	29 km	263 days
10	Keyhole sinus surgery	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 340 days	Gold Coast University HospitalQLD · 81 days	29 km	259 days
11	Knee replacement	Logan HospitalQLD · 350 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 97 days	69 km	253 days
12	Knee replacement	Robina HospitalQLD · 338 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 97 days	20 km	241 days
13	Knee replacement	Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee HospitalQLD · 337 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 97 days	84 km	240 days
14	Tonsillectomy	Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation ServiceQLD · 339 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 109 days	96 km	230 days
15	Hiatus hernia repair	Lismore Base HospitalNSW · 301 days	Gold Coast University HospitalQLD · 78 days	95 km	223 days
16	Hip replacement	Royal Brisbane & Women's HospitalQLD · 269 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 68 days	96 km	201 days
17	Pterygium (eye growth) removal	Murwillumbah District HospitalNSW · 275 days	Princess Alexandra HospitalQLD · 76 days	98 km	199 days
18	Prolapse repair	Robina HospitalQLD · 223 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 28 days	20 km	195 days
19	Shoulder joint replacement	Royal Brisbane & Women's HospitalQLD · 230 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 35 days	96 km	195 days
20	Knee replacement	Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation ServiceQLD · 283 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 97 days	96 km	186 days
21	Varicose vein surgery	Gold Coast University HospitalQLD · 324 days	Lismore Base HospitalNSW · 139 days	95 km	185 days
22	Deviated septum surgery	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 363 days	Ipswich HospitalQLD · 178 days	99 km	185 days
23	Tonsillectomy	Mater Adult HospitalQLD · 293 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 109 days	92 km	184 days
24	Tonsillectomy	Logan HospitalQLD · 278 days	Murwillumbah District HospitalNSW · 99 days	77 km	179 days
25	Keyhole joint surgery	Royal Brisbane & Women's HospitalQLD · 223 days	Tweed Valley HospitalNSW · 50 days	96 km	173 days

How this is computed

Both hospitals published a median wait for the same surgery type in 2024–25 — nothing is estimated, and a suppressed figure never takes part.
The hospitals are in different states and within 100 km of each other, straight-line between their recorded locations. Distances are approximate and are not road distances.
The difference is between two published medians. It is not a prediction of any person's wait, and a shorter median is not a recommendation.
Closed hospitals are excluded. Each origin hospital appears once per surgery, against the alternative that saves the most days.

What a cross-border referral actually involves — the clinic queue, who accepts the referral, travel and follow-up — is in the referral guide.

What is not here

Public hospitals only. Private hospitals do not report to this collection, so their waiting times cannot be compared here.