Large bowel surgery (colectomy) waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for large bowel surgery (colectomy) in Australian public hospitals was 18 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 5 days at Griffith Base Hospital to 84 days at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital [Heidelberg West]. The source publishes this surgery as "Colectomy/anterior resection/large bowel resection".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for large bowel surgery (colectomy) in public hospitals was 18 days in 2024–25, from 5575 surgeries. 1.0% of people waited more than 365 days. 87 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Colectomy/anterior resection/large bowel resection" 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 18 days marks the national median.
Victoria: 15 days
South Australia: 17 days
Western Australia: 18 days
New South Wales: 20 days
Queensland: 22 days
Australian Capital Territory: not published
Northern Territory: not published
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria | 15 days | 1.4% | 1728 surgeries |
| 2 | South Australia | 17 days | 0.9% | 470 surgeries |
| 3 | Western Australia | 18 days | 0.6% | 616 surgeries |
| 4 | New South Wales | 20 days | 1.0% | 1797 surgeries |
| 5 | Queensland | 22 days | 0.4% | 925 surgeries |
| unranked | Australian Capital Territory | not published | not published | 10 surgeries |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | 29 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near the Adelaide CBD · near Box Hill · near Liverpool · near Randwick · near St Leonards · near Woolloongabba · and 7 more areas on the state pages.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- VIC
- SA
- WA
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | VIC (days) | SA (days) | WA (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 15 |
| 2017–18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 |
| 2018–19 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 21 |
| 2019–20 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 17 |
| 2020–21 | 18 | 16 | 19 | 18 |
| 2021–22 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 17 |
| 2022–23 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 20 |
| 2023–24 | 19 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| 2024–25 | 18 | 15 | 17 | 18 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for large bowel surgery (colectomy) in a public hospital?
The national median was 18 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 15 days in Victoria to 22 days in Queensland.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for large bowel surgery (colectomy)?
Of the 87 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Griffith Base Hospital reported the shortest median, 5 days, and Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital [Heidelberg West] the longest, 84 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?
1.0% of people who had large bowel surgery (colectomy) 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 large bowel surgery (colectomy) in Australian public hospitals was 18 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Large bowel surgery (colectomy) waiting list", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/colectomy-anterior-resection-large-bowel-resection/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/colectomy-anterior-resection-large-bowel-resection/), 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/colectomy-anterior-resection-large-bowel-resection.svg" width="720" height="318" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Large bowel surgery (colectomy) 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.