Guides

Plain answers to the questions people bring to a waiting time.

• Emergency department waiting times

  Emergency department waits and surgery waiting lists are two different things. Where to find your state's official ED waiting times, and what this site covers instead.

• How to check where you are on the waiting list

  There is no national portal for checking your place on a public hospital waiting list. Who actually holds your listing, what to ask, and what the published figures can and cannot tell you.

• What happens if your surgery is cancelled

  Why public hospitals postpone planned surgery, what happens to your place on the waiting list, and the questions to ask when it happens to you.

• Can my GP refer me to a different hospital?

  Yes — including a hospital in another state. What a referral to a different public hospital involves, and the questions to ask your GP first.

• Public and private waiting compared

  Why private hospital waiting times are not on this site, what the public figures cover, and what to ask before choosing.

• Urgency categories explained

  What Category 1, 2 and 3 mean, the recommended time for each, and how often every public hospital meets it.

• What "elective surgery" means

  Why the official word for planned surgery misleads people, and what it actually covers.