Spinal bone removal (laminectomy) waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for spinal bone removal (laminectomy) in Australian public hospitals was 66 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 21 days at Osborne Park Hospital to 354 days at Wagga Wagga Hospital. The source publishes this surgery as "Laminectomy".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for spinal bone removal (laminectomy) in public hospitals was 66 days in 2024–25, from 1772 surgeries. 7.4% of people waited more than 365 days. 24 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Laminectomy" 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 66 days marks the national median.
Tasmania: 40 days
Victoria: 53 days
Western Australia: 75 days
New South Wales: 87 days
South Australia: not published
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tasmania | 40 days | 0.0% | 328 surgeries |
| 2 | Victoria | 53 days | 3.7% | 459 surgeries |
| 3 | Western Australia | 75 days | 9.4% | 286 surgeries |
| 4 | New South Wales | 87 days | 14.0% | 609 surgeries |
| unranked | South Australia | not published | not published | 90 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near Camperdown · near Heidelberg.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- TAS
- VIC
- WA
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | TAS (days) | VIC (days) | WA (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 57 | 53 | 40 | not published |
| 2017–18 | 68 | 57 | 78 | 62 |
| 2018–19 | 73 | 88 | 73 | 81 |
| 2019–20 | 69 | 46 | 72 | 74 |
| 2020–21 | 70 | 92 | 59 | 91 |
| 2021–22 | 70 | 115 | 28 | 69 |
| 2022–23 | 92 | 73 | 100 | not published |
| 2023–24 | 68 | 40 | 86 | 76 |
| 2024–25 | 66 | 40 | 53 | 75 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for spinal bone removal (laminectomy) in a public hospital?
The national median was 66 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 40 days in Tasmania to 87 days in New South Wales.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for spinal bone removal (laminectomy)?
Of the 24 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Osborne Park Hospital reported the shortest median, 21 days, and Wagga Wagga Hospital the longest, 354 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?
7.4% of people who had spinal bone removal (laminectomy) 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 spinal bone removal (laminectomy) in Australian public hospitals was 66 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Spinal bone removal (laminectomy) waiting list", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/laminectomy/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/laminectomy/), 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/laminectomy.svg" width="720" height="284" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Spinal bone removal (laminectomy) 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.