Public hospital admissions for elective surgery have risen to 791,000 in 2024–25, up from 712,000 in 2015–16. 

New data published today to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) Hospitals platform shows national, state and hospital-level elective surgery wait times and emergency department (ED) presentations for 2024–25. 

Elective surgery 

Overall, half (50%) of patients were admitted from a public hospital elective surgery waiting list within 45 days in 2024–25, which was similar to 2023–24 (46 days). 

The proportion of patients who had waited more than a year to be admitted for elective surgery was 6.0%. 

‘Cataract surgery was the most common procedure with 88,000 admissions, an increase from 84,000 in 2023–24,’ said AIHW spokesperson Clara Jellie. 

‘Half of these patients were admitted within 106 days, a decrease from 189 days in 2023–24.’ 

Emergency department presentations 

There were 9.1 million ED presentations in public hospitals across Australia in 2024–25, a rate of 328 presentations per 1,000 population. This is an increase from 7.6 million and a rate of 316 presentations per 1,000 population in 2015–16. 

Half (50%) of all patients were seen within 18 minutes, which was the same as the previous year. 

‘Around 10% of patients, or 1 in 10, waited longer than 1 hour and 58 minutes to be seen after presenting to an ED,’ said Ms Jellie. 

‘Overall, 67% of patients were seen on time for their triage category, including all patients requiring immediate care.’ 

More than half (53%) of people who presented to an ED had their care completed within 4 hours, compared with 55% in 2023-24. Of those who were subsequently admitted to the same hospital, just under one-third (30%) of ED presentations were completed within 4 hours.