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We’ll use private system to cut public wait times, Nationals promise

By Ashley Darling

Oct 5, 2026

The Nationals have announced a policy that will use private hospitals to treat public patients. Photo by Getty Images

The Nationals have announced a new policy that would use private hospitals to halve wait times and clear backlogs for public patients who need elective surgeries in Victoria.

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The program, called SurgerySooner, would be based on a successful program in Queensland and delivered across over 100 private facilities.

The elective surgery waitlist currently sits at around 69,000 people, 10,000 higher than at the same time last year.

Nationals candidate for the state seat of Shepparton Shane Sali said the program would deliver an additional 25,000 surgeries a year across Victoria.

“Too many people across the Shepparton District are waiting in pain for too long,” Mr Sali said.

SurgerySooner is costed at $1.27 billion over four years and would be wholly offset by the Coalition’s policy to abolish Breakthrough Victoria, a state-owned venture capital fund.

The procedures to be prioritised include hip and knee replacements, gynaecological procedures, cataracts, hernia repairs, gastroscopies and colonoscopies.

Mr Sali said SurgerySooner would address a long-standing issue in the community.

“Our SurgerySooner plan means patients waiting for elective surgeries will be treated sooner and have greater choice,” Mr Sali said.

“We have a plan to halve the waitlist and fix the healthcare system,” he said.