Overdue surgeries reduced

21 August 2025

The number of overdue surgeries has been reduced by more than 6,000 since the end of March, and by almost 12,000 since March 2023. 
 
The NSW Government announced funding of $23 million as part of the 2025-26 Budget to further reduce the number of patients with planned surgeries waiting longer than clinically recommended.
 
This is in addition to the $186 million provided at the end of 2024 for planned surgery, which is already having an easing effect on wait times. 
 
This investment has seen a massive improvement, with around 2,500 overdue surgeries at the end of June this year, a significant reduction from the over 8,500 overdue surgeries at the end of March. 
 
NSW is one of the strongest performing states in Australia for planned surgery with the highest proportion of patients admitted within clinically recommended time at 85.3 per cent in 2023-24, above Queensland (81per cent), Victoria (80 per cent) and Western Australia (80 per cent).
 
Since the establishment of NSW Surgical Care Governance Taskforce in 2023, a range of innovative statewide strategies have been implemented to cut down wait times as well as improve and maintain access to planned surgery.
 
This includes the expansion of same-day surgery across NSW. Surgery that can be safely performed on the same day helps to meet the demand for surgery and improves patient experiences by enabling patients to return to the comfort of their home with support, where clinically appropriate.
 
The Surgical Care Strategic Committee is continuing the work of the Taskforce to ensure public hospital surgical services in NSW are sustainable and patients can continue to access the care they require in clinically recommended timeframes.
 
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Ryan Park: 
 
“This government is absolutely determined to ensure that everyone who needs surgery in NSW gets it as quickly as possible and drive down the overdue surgeries list.
 
“I want to say a massive thank you to NSW Health staff who have helped us reach this significant milestone, with many working on additional theatre lists on evenings and weekends to allow more procedures to be performed.
 
“We are going to continue to remain focused on reducing surgery wait times, including increasing the number of same-day surgeries where it’s safe to do so.”​