Shoulder joint replacement waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for shoulder joint replacement in Australian public hospitals was 174 days in 2024–25 — from 18 days at Western Hospital [Footscray] to 456 days at Bowral Hospital.
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released
Across Australia, the median wait for shoulder joint replacement in public hospitals was 174 days in 2024–25, from 2417 surgeries. 20.4% of people waited more than 365 days. 89 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Shoulder joint replacement" 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
| Rank | State or territory | Median wait | Waited more than 365 days | Surgeries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria | 116 days | 11.8% | 575 surgeries |
| 2 | Queensland | 123 days | 17.0% | 352 surgeries |
| 3 | South Australia | 140 days | 15.3% | 118 surgeries |
| 4 | Western Australia | 148 days | 13.1% | 397 surgeries |
| 5 | New South Wales | 325 days | 30.9% | 912 surgeries |
| unranked | Australian Capital Territory | not published | not published | 53 surgeries |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | 10 surgeries |
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- VIC
- QLD
- SA
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | VIC (days) | QLD (days) | SA (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 147 | 126 | 99 | not published |
| 2017–18 | 152 | 116 | 96 | not published |
| 2018–19 | 163 | 137 | 145 | not published |
| 2019–20 | 154 | 108 | 155 | not published |
| 2020–21 | 246 | 164 | 264 | not published |
| 2021–22 | 218 | 116 | 185 | not published |
| 2022–23 | 254 | 225 | 169 | not published |
| 2023–24 | 192 | 156 | 138 | 127 |
| 2024–25 | 174 | 116 | 123 | 140 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for shoulder joint replacement in a public hospital?
The national median was 174 days in 2024–25 — half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 116 days in Victoria to 325 days in New South Wales.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for shoulder joint replacement?
Of the 89 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Western Hospital [Footscray] reported the shortest (18 days) and Bowral Hospital the longest (456 days). A shorter median is not a recommendation — how to read these figures.
How many people waited more than a year?
20.4% of people who had shoulder joint replacement in an Australian public hospital in 2024–25 waited more than 365 days.
Cite this page
The national median wait for shoulder joint replacement in Australian public hospitals was 174 days in 2024–25, from 18 days at Western Hospital [Footscray] to 456 days at Bowral Hospital.
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Shoulder joint replacement waiting list", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/shoulder-joint-replacement/, accessed 28 May 2026.Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/shoulder-joint-replacement/), 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/shoulder-joint-replacement.svg" width="720" height="318" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Shoulder joint replacement 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.