Shoulder decompression surgery waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for shoulder decompression surgery in Australian public hospitals was 92 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 14 days at Gawler Health Service to 376 days at Albany Hospital. The source publishes this surgery as "Acromioplasty/arthroscopy shoulder/sub acromial decompression".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for shoulder decompression surgery in public hospitals was 92 days in 2024–25, from 1418 surgeries. 6.3% of people waited more than 365 days. 43 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Acromioplasty/arthroscopy shoulder/sub acromial decompression" and type your suburb to see the public hospitals within reach, ordered by their published wait. Nothing you type there is kept.
State by state
Bars show the median wait in days. The vertical line at 92 days marks the national median.
Victoria: 79 days
Western Australia: 90 days
South Australia: 106 days
New South Wales: 127 days
Northern Territory: not published
Queensland: not published
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria | 79 days | 7.3% | 480 surgeries |
| 2 | Western Australia | 90 days | 3.0% | 537 surgeries |
| 3 | South Australia | 106 days | 9.4% | 202 surgeries |
| 4 | New South Wales | 127 days | 9.7% | 103 surgeries |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | not published |
| unranked | Queensland | not published | not published | 93 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near Bedford Park · near Heidelberg · near Nedlands · near the Perth CBD.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- VIC
- WA
- SA
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | VIC (days) | WA (days) | SA (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 85 | 75 | 73 | not published |
| 2017–18 | 95 | 84 | 83 | 97 |
| 2018–19 | 98 | 82 | 75 | 91 |
| 2019–20 | 108 | 89 | 92 | 83 |
| 2020–21 | 141 | 133 | 94 | 163 |
| 2021–22 | 131 | 117 | 101 | 105 |
| 2022–23 | 154 | 193 | 112 | 79 |
| 2023–24 | 101 | 104 | 88 | 109 |
| 2024–25 | 92 | 79 | 90 | 106 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for shoulder decompression surgery in a public hospital?
The national median was 92 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 79 days in Victoria to 127 days in New South Wales.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for shoulder decompression surgery?
Of the 43 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Gawler Health Service reported the shortest median, 14 days, and Albany Hospital the longest, 376 days (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). A shorter median is not a recommendation. How to read these figures.
How many people waited more than a year?
6.3% of people who had shoulder decompression surgery in an Australian public hospital in 2024–25 waited more than 365 days (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Cite this page
The national median wait for shoulder decompression surgery in Australian public hospitals was 92 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Shoulder decompression surgery waiting list", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/acromioplasty-arthroscopy-shoulder-sub-acromial-decompression/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/acromioplasty-arthroscopy-shoulder-sub-acromial-decompression/), from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare MyHospitals data, CC BY 3.0 AU. Reference period 2024–25, released 28 May 2026.
Embed the chart
The state comparison is also published as a standalone image at a stable address — the SVG chart — free to embed or link with the attribution below:
<img src="https://surgerywaits.au/charts/acromioplasty-arthroscopy-shoulder-sub-acromial-decompression.svg" width="720" height="284" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Shoulder decompression surgery by state and territory, 2024–25">What is not here
Public hospitals only. Private hospitals do not report to this collection, so their waiting times cannot be compared here.
The source calls this collection "elective surgery". This site calls it planned surgery, because the surgery is planned in advance rather than optional — the methodology explains the wording.