Surgery Waits

Where crossing a state border cuts the surgery wait most

The biggest published cross-border difference in 2024–25 was 427 days: the median wait for eardrum repair was 736 days at Lismore Base Hospital in New South Wales, and 309 days at Gold Coast University Hospital, 95 km away in Queensland.

Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released

Public hospital waiting lists are run state by state, but referrals are not: your general practitioner (GP) can refer you to a public hospital in another state, and for people who live near a border the nearest hospital is often across it. This page ranks the places where that matters most in the published figures.

The 25 biggest published differences

Public hospitals in different states within 100 km of each other, both publishing a median wait for the same surgery in 2024–25, ranked by the difference — one row per hospital and surgery, against its best cross-border alternative. Every figure was released on 2026-05-28.
Rank Surgery Longer wait Across the border Distance Difference
1 Eardrum repair Lismore Base Hospital (NSW) — 736 days Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD) — 309 days 95 km 427 days
2 Prolapse repair Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital (QLD) — 363 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 28 days 96 km 335 days
3 Prolapse repair Ipswich Hospital (QLD) — 343 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 28 days 99 km 315 days
4 Prolapse repair Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital (QLD) — 340 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 28 days 84 km 312 days
5 Shoulder joint replacement Ipswich Hospital (QLD) — 339 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 35 days 99 km 304 days
6 Knee replacement Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital (QLD) — 384 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 97 days 96 km 287 days
7 Shoulder joint replacement Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital (QLD) — 305 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 35 days 84 km 270 days
8 Dupuytren's contracture surgery Robina Hospital (QLD) — 347 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 81 days 20 km 266 days
9 Dupuytren's contracture surgery Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD) — 344 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 81 days 29 km 263 days
10 Functional endoscopic sinus surgery Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 340 days Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD) — 81 days 29 km 259 days
11 Knee replacement Logan Hospital (QLD) — 350 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 97 days 69 km 253 days
12 Knee replacement Robina Hospital (QLD) — 338 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 97 days 20 km 241 days
13 Knee replacement Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Hospital (QLD) — 337 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 97 days 84 km 240 days
14 Tonsillectomy Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (QLD) — 339 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 109 days 96 km 230 days
15 Repair of obstructing hiatus hernia Lismore Base Hospital (NSW) — 301 days Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD) — 78 days 95 km 223 days
16 Hip replacement Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital (QLD) — 269 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 68 days 96 km 201 days
17 Pterygium - excision of Murwillumbah District Hospital (NSW) — 275 days Princess Alexandra Hospital (QLD) — 76 days 98 km 199 days
18 Prolapse repair Robina Hospital (QLD) — 223 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 28 days 20 km 195 days
19 Shoulder joint replacement Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital (QLD) — 230 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 35 days 96 km 195 days
20 Knee replacement Surgical Treatment and Rehabilitation Service (QLD) — 283 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 97 days 96 km 186 days
21 Varicose vein surgery Gold Coast University Hospital (QLD) — 324 days Lismore Base Hospital (NSW) — 139 days 95 km 185 days
22 Septoplasty Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 363 days Ipswich Hospital (QLD) — 178 days 99 km 185 days
23 Tonsillectomy Mater Adult Hospital (QLD) — 293 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 109 days 92 km 184 days
24 Tonsillectomy Logan Hospital (QLD) — 278 days Murwillumbah District Hospital (NSW) — 99 days 77 km 179 days
25 Arthroscopy Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital (QLD) — 223 days Tweed Valley Hospital (NSW) — 50 days 96 km 173 days

How this is computed

What a cross-border referral actually involves — the clinic queue, who accepts the referral, travel and follow-up — is in the referral guide.

What is not here

Public hospitals only. Private hospitals do not report to this collection, so their waiting times cannot be compared here.