Shoulder reconstruction waiting times in Australian public hospitals
The national median wait for shoulder reconstruction in Australian public hospitals was 88 days in 2024–25 — from 10 days at Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital to 290 days at Gold Coast University Hospital.
Reference period 2024–25 (1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025) · released
Across Australia, the median wait for shoulder reconstruction in public hospitals was 88 days in 2024–25, from 835 surgeries. 6.6% of people waited more than 365 days. 32 public hospitals published a median wait for it.
Compare this near you → On the compare page, pick "Shoulder reconstruction" 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 | 54 days | 2.0% | 149 surgeries |
| 2 | Queensland | 79 days | 5.6% | 303 surgeries |
| 3 | Western Australia | 105 days | 6.2% | 226 surgeries |
| 4 | New South Wales | 272 days | 13.4% | 119 surgeries |
| unranked | Australian Capital Territory | not published | not published | 9 surgeries |
| unranked | Northern Territory | not published | not published | 13 surgeries |
| unranked | South Australia | not published | not published | 16 surgeries |
How the wait has changed
- Australia
- VIC
- QLD
- WA
View these numbers as a table
| Reference period | Australia (days) | VIC (days) | QLD (days) | WA (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | 80 | 69 | 79 | 76 |
| 2017–18 | 84 | 82 | 87 | 73 |
| 2018–19 | 84 | 81 | 98 | 78 |
| 2019–20 | 90 | 79 | 111 | 83 |
| 2020–21 | 92 | 82 | 88 | 85 |
| 2021–22 | 98 | not published | 89 | 99 |
| 2022–23 | 109 | 89 | 114 | 112 |
| 2023–24 | 89 | 85 | 87 | 67 |
| 2024–25 | 88 | 54 | 79 | 105 |
Common questions
How long is the wait for shoulder reconstruction in a public hospital?
The national median was 88 days in 2024–25 — half of people waited less than that, half waited longer. State medians ranged from 54 days in Victoria to 272 days in New South Wales.
Which public hospital has the shortest wait for shoulder reconstruction?
Of the 32 public hospitals that published a median for 2024–25, Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital reported the shortest (10 days) and Gold Coast University Hospital the longest (290 days). A shorter median is not a recommendation — how to read these figures.
How many people waited more than a year?
6.6% of people who had shoulder reconstruction in an Australian public hospital in 2024–25 waited more than 365 days.
Cite this page
The national median wait for shoulder reconstruction in Australian public hospitals was 88 days in 2024–25, from 10 days at Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital to 290 days at Gold Coast University Hospital.
Copy-ready citation
Surgery Waits, "Shoulder reconstruction waiting list by state, 2024–25", 2024–25 data released 28 May 2026, https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/shoulder-reconstruction/, accessed 28 May 2026.
Attribution: Surgery Waits (https://surgerywaits.au/surgery/shoulder-reconstruction/), 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-reconstruction.svg" width="720" height="284" alt="Median public hospital waiting time for Shoulder reconstruction 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.