How Much Does a Hip Replacement Cost in Australia?
What a hip replacement costs in Australia across the public, private and self-funded pathways — wait times, gap fees, the MBS item number, and the questions to ask before you commit.
Hip replacement is a major operation with a cost structure that is genuinely confusing, and most people are quoted only part of it. This page sets out what a hip replacement costs in Australia across the three pathways, and what to ask so that the number you are given is the number you actually pay.
For the operation itself, see total hip replacement. If you are still deciding whether you need one, Do I Need a Hip Replacement? is the better starting point.
1st Choice: Public System
If you are eligible for Medicare, your GP can refer you for assessment of your hip arthritis. That referral goes through a centralised system, is triaged according to urgency, and is sent to a hospital servicing your area. Hip arthritis usually receives a low priority.
Waiting times for the initial appointment can be long — months to years. After that appointment you may need further imaging, and if a hip replacement is recommended and you consent, you join a surgical waiting list, which can itself run to months or years.
- Benefits: Medicare covers the surgery, so there are no out-of-pocket surgical expenses.
- Cons: You cannot choose your surgeon, and the wait can be long.
- Worth knowing: parts of regional Australia, and some states, run no public outpatient clinic at the hospital at all. Patients get sent to private rooms for the assessment instead, and where a private surgeon can place you on a public list from there, that first appointment may still have to be paid for.
2nd Choice: Private System
Private health insurance shortens the timeline substantially. You would generally see a private surgeon within four to six weeks. If a hip replacement is the answer, a theatre date usually follows around six weeks after that — and the gap is deliberate rather than administrative, giving you time to build some strength beforehand and get any medical workup done.
At booking you will be given the information you need to confirm your cover with your fund: the MBS item number (49318 for total hip replacement), the anaesthetist’s details, and the hospital.
What you will actually pay depends on three things:
- Your excess, set by your policy
- Any hospital or prosthesis co-payment, depending on your level of cover
- The gap — the difference between the surgeon’s fee and what the insurer pays
The gap varies between surgeons, because surgeons set their own fees. A larger gap does not mean a better surgeon; it means that surgeon has chosen to set higher fees. Ask what the gap will be, in writing, before you commit.
Check your cover carefully. Joint replacement sits in a restricted category on many mid-tier policies, and waiting periods for pre-existing conditions typically run to twelve months — worth confirming early rather than discovering at booking.
3rd Choice: Self-Funded
If you do not have private insurance and would rather not wait for the public system, you can pay for the procedure directly.
Total cost for a self-funded hip replacement — hospital stay, prosthesis and surgical fees — is commonly quoted between $25,000 and $35,000, though quotes vary with the hospital, the implant, your length of stay and the complexity of your case. Around one-third of this is usually offset by Medicare rebates.
Get every component itemised before you book: surgeon, anaesthetist, assistant, hospital, prosthesis and any expected rehabilitation.
Before you commit to any of the three
Whichever route you take, ask for informed financial consent — a written estimate of your total out-of-pocket cost, covering the surgeon, anaesthetist, assistant, hospital and prosthesis, before you commit.
The anaesthetist and the surgical assistant bill independently of the surgeon. That is the single most common source of an unexpected account, and it is entirely avoidable by asking up front.
A few other costs sit outside most quotes and are worth budgeting for:
- Imaging before surgery, and any follow-up films
- Physiotherapy after discharge, which is a real part of the recovery rather than an optional extra
- A rehabilitation stay, if you need one — some policies cover it and some do not
- Time off work, which for manual work can be substantial
What the fee is not a measure of
It is tempting to read a higher fee as a signal of quality. It is not one.
What is actually worth asking about is case volume, whether the surgeon does revision work as well as primary replacement, which approaches they are experienced in, and where they operate. Choosing the Right Surgeon for Your Hip Replacement in Perth covers what distinguishes one surgeon from another and the questions worth taking into the room.
Where Dr Clark operates
Dr Clark consults at Murdoch and Mandurah, and operates at St John of God Murdoch, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital.
For a written estimate specific to your circumstances, phone the rooms on (08) 6332 6365 or book a consultation. A referral — usually from your GP — is required to claim a Medicare rebate for a specialist consultation.
Fees, MBS item numbers and scheduled rebates are revised periodically. Figures on this page are indicative; confirm current amounts with the rooms and with your health fund.
How much does a hip replacement cost in Australia?+
Three pathways, three very different answers. Publicly, Medicare covers the operation and you pay nothing towards it — the price is measured in waiting, which runs from months into years. Privately, you pay your policy excess plus whatever gap your surgeon leaves above the fund's payment. Paying for it yourself, expect quotes between $25,000 and $35,000 all up, covering hospital, implant and surgical fees, with Medicare rebates typically returning about a third of it.
What is the MBS item number for a hip replacement?+
MBS item 49318 covers total arthroplasty of the hip, including minor bone grafting where performed. Item numbers and scheduled fees are revised periodically, so confirm the current code and fee with the rooms when you are quoted, and use it to check your cover with your health fund.
What is a gap fee?+
Health funds pay a set amount for a given operation. Surgeons set their own fees. The gap is whatever daylight is left between the two, and it lands on you. Because it reflects a pricing decision rather than a clinical one, a big gap tells you nothing useful about the surgeon charging it. Ask what yours will be, get it in writing, and ask before you are committed rather than after.
Does Medicare cover a hip replacement?+
It contributes on every pathway, just differently. Publicly it covers the operation outright and you pay nothing towards the surgery. Privately it pays part, your fund pays part, and anything left over is the gap. Paying your own way, rebates usually come back to around a third of what you have laid out.
How long is the wait for a hip replacement in the public system?+
Long enough that it is worth understanding the shape of it. There are two queues, not one. The first is for an appointment: your GP's referral is triaged centrally, hip arthritis is rarely graded urgent, and that wait alone can stretch from months into years. Assuming replacement is then recommended and you agree to it, you join a second queue for theatre, which can run just as long again.
How much faster is going private?+
The difference is measured in months rather than years. You would generally see a private surgeon within four to six weeks, and if a hip replacement is the answer, a theatre date around six weeks after that. The gap between the two is not administrative — it gives you time to build up some strength beforehand and to get any medical workup completed.
Can I choose my surgeon in the public system?+
No — you are allocated to whoever is operating on the list you land on. Along with the waiting, that is the main practical trade-off people are making when they weigh public against private.
What costs do people forget to ask about?+
The anaesthetist and the surgical assistant bill independently of the surgeon, which is the most common source of an unexpected account. Imaging, physiotherapy, any rehabilitation stay and follow-up appointments also sit outside the headline hospital estimate. Ask for informed financial consent — a written estimate covering all of it — before you commit.