Mastoid surgery behind the ear waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for mastoid surgery behind the ear in Australian public hospitals was 99 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Hospital medians ranged from 12 days at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to 368 days at Royal Melbourne Hospital [City Campus]. The source publishes this surgery as "Mastoidectomy".
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released 28 May 2026.
Across Australia, the median wait for mastoid surgery behind the ear in public hospitals was 99 days in 2024–25, from 656 surgeries. 13.6% 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 "Mastoidectomy" 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 99 days marks the national median.
New South Wales: 86 days
Victoria: 128 days
Northern Territory: not published
Queensland: not published
South Australia: not published
Tasmania: not published
Western Australia: not published
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New South Wales | 86 days | 14.1% | 184 surgeries |
| 2 | Victoria | 128 days | 17.3% | 226 surgeries |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | 12 surgeries |
| unranked | Queensland | not published | not published | 84 surgeries |
| unranked | South Australia | not published | not published | 37 surgeries |
| unranked | Tasmania | not published | not published | 28 surgeries |
| unranked | Western Australia | not published | not published | 85 surgeries |
Ranked by area: near Clayton.
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- NSW
- VIC
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | NSW (days) | VIC (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 83 | 97 | 77 |
| 2017–18 | 95 | 99 | 106 |
| 2018–19 | 106 | 160 | 125 |
| 2019–20 | 104 | 125 | 119 |
| 2020–21 | 119 | 150 | 160 |
| 2021–22 | 98 | 98 | 148 |
| 2022–23 | 162 | 210 | 183 |
| 2023–24 | 112 | 97 | 136 |
| 2024–25 | 99 | 86 | 128 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for mastoid surgery behind the ear in a public hospital?
The national median was 99 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026). Half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 86 days in New South Wales to 128 days in Victoria.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for mastoid surgery behind the ear?
Of the 25 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital reported the shortest median, 12 days, and Royal Melbourne Hospital [City Campus] the longest, 368 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?
13.6% of people who had mastoid surgery behind the ear 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 mastoid surgery behind the ear in Australian public hospitals was 99 days in 2024–25 (AIHW MyHospitals, released 28 May 2026).
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Mastoid surgery behind the ear waiting list", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/mastoidectomy/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/mastoidectomy/), 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/mastoidectomy.svg" width="720" height="216" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Mastoid surgery behind the ear 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.