Brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) in Australian public hospitals was 20 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 2 days at Sydney Children's Hospital to 126 days at Royal North Shore Hospital. The source publishes this surgery as "Craniotomy".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) in public hospitals was 20 days in 2024–25, from 1392 surgeries. 0.9% of people waited more than 365 days. 25 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Craniotomy" 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 20 days marks the national median.
New South Wales: 15 days
Victoria: 20 days
Australian Capital Territory: not published
Northern Territory: not published
Queensland: not published
South Australia: not published
Western Australia: not published
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New South Wales | 15 days | 1.0% | 485 surgeries |
| 2 | Victoria | 20 days | 0.8% | 723 surgeries |
| unranked | Australian Capital Territory | not published | not published | not published |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | not published |
| unranked | Queensland | not published | not published | 70 surgeries |
| unranked | South Australia | not published | not published | 95 surgeries |
| unranked | Western Australia | not published | not published | 14 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near Camperdown · near Randwick.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- NSW
- VIC
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | NSW (days) | VIC (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 14 | 13 | 18 |
| 2017–18 | 17 | 13 | 21 |
| 2018–19 | 19 | 14 | 26 |
| 2019–20 | 14 | 11 | 17 |
| 2020–21 | 15 | 13 | 16 |
| 2021–22 | 14 | 13 | 15 |
| 2022–23 | 18 | 13 | 20 |
| 2023–24 | 22 | 16 | 24 |
| 2024–25 | 20 | 15 | 20 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) in a public hospital?
The national median was 20 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 New South Wales to 20 days in Victoria.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy)?
Of the 25 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Sydney Children's Hospital reported the shortest median, 2 days, and Royal North Shore Hospital the longest, 126 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?
0.9% of people who had brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) 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 brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) in Australian public hospitals was 20 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy)", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/craniotomy/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/craniotomy/), 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/craniotomy.svg" width="720" height="216" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Brain surgery through the skull (craniotomy) 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.