Keyhole joint surgery waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for keyhole joint surgery in Australian public hospitals was 78 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 15 days at Gawler Health Service to 360 days at Blacktown Hospital. The source publishes this surgery as "Arthroscopy".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for keyhole joint surgery in public hospitals was 78 days in 2024–25, from 8779 surgeries. 7.1% of people waited more than 365 days. 150 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Arthroscopy" 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 78 days marks the national median.
Victoria: 48 days
South Australia: 62 days
Tasmania: 70 days
Western Australia: 75 days
Queensland: 79 days
Northern Territory: 81 days
New South Wales: 134 days
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria | 48 days | 4.2% | 1804 surgeries |
| 2 | South Australia | 62 days | 3.7% | 1061 surgeries |
| 3 | Tasmania | 70 days | 3.0% | 271 surgeries |
| 4 | Western Australia | 75 days | 5.1% | 1045 surgeries |
| 5 | Queensland | 79 days | 7.7% | 1582 surgeries |
| 6 | Northern Territory | 81 days | 12.5% | 136 surgeries |
| 7 | New South Wales | 134 days | 10.8% | 2880 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near Camperdown · near Herston · near Liverpool · near the Perth CBD · near St Leonards · near Woolloongabba · and 17 more areas on the state pages.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- VIC
- SA
- TAS
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | VIC (days) | SA (days) | TAS (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 68 | 41 | 56 | 78 |
| 2017–18 | 72 | 48 | 54 | 61 |
| 2018–19 | 75 | 45 | 56 | 83 |
| 2019–20 | 76 | 51 | 65 | 111 |
| 2020–21 | 89 | 64 | 41 | 182 |
| 2021–22 | 85 | 64 | 57 | 105 |
| 2022–23 | 86 | 74 | 45 | 70 |
| 2023–24 | 78 | 63 | 50 | 75 |
| 2024–25 | 78 | 48 | 62 | 70 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for keyhole joint surgery in a public hospital?
The national median was 78 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 48 days in Victoria to 134 days in New South Wales.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for keyhole joint surgery?
Of the 150 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Gawler Health Service reported the shortest median, 15 days, and Blacktown Hospital the longest, 360 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?
7.1% of people who had keyhole joint 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 keyhole joint surgery in Australian public hospitals was 78 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Keyhole joint surgery waiting list by state, 2024–25", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/arthroscopy/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/arthroscopy/), 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/arthroscopy.svg" width="720" height="386" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Keyhole joint 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.