WA Officially has the Worst Emergency Department Wait Times in Australia

Media Release | 11 December 2025
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Libby Mettam
Shadow Health Minister
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Shadow Minister for Health Libby Mettam has condemned the Cook Labor Government for delivering the worst public hospital emergency department performance in Australia.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) figures released yesterday revealed WA recorded the longest emergency department (ED) wait times in the country last financial year.

The AIHW data showed WA’s median emergency department wait time had blown out to 44 minutes — more than double the national median of 18 minutes, and that only 46 per cent of West Australians presenting to EDs were seen on time, compared to 67 per cent nationally.

Ms Mettam said the truly damning statistic for the Cook Government was that WA had, during the same time, recorded one of the smallest increases in ED presentations of any state or territory.

“These figures are an indictment on a government that has repeatedly failed to get the basics right,” she said.

“After eight years in office and billions poured into crisis responses, Western Australians are waiting longer than anyone else in the country for emergency care.

“These figures confirm what frontline clinicians have been warning for years — the system is gridlocked, understaffed, and dangerously overstretched under this Labor Government.”

Ms Mettam said the results raised serious questions about the effectiveness of the Government’s high-profile initiatives, including the newly opened State Health Operations Centre, which cost more than $218 million to build and operate.

“The Government sold the State Health Operations Centre as a game-changer for ED performance, yet WA has just posted the worst results in the nation,” she said.

Ms Mettam said yesterday’s announcement by Health Minister Merredith Hammat that the Government would turn to Artificial Intelligence to manage bed movements at Royal Perth Hospital was, at this stage, just another announcement.

“AI is a useful tool, but this Government has a shocking track record of delivery; WA is currently one of the last states in the nation to implement an electronic patient records management system,” she said.

“Technology can assist, but it cannot fix a health system Labor has allowed to fall into crisis. You cannot AI your way out of a shortage of beds, nurses, and clinicians.

“Western Australians deserve a government that delivers practical solutions, not photo-ops and tech announcements designed to mask systemic failure.

“These results should be a wake-up call. Patients are paying the price for a government that continues to talk big but deliver little. WA families deserve better.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Graham Mason | 0419 194 792

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