How Much Does Breast Reduction Surgery Cost?

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What is breast reduction surgery?

How much does breast reduction surgery cost?

What other out-of-pocket costs could I have for breast reduction surgery?

What other or ongoing costs are there for a breast reduction?

How long will I have to wait for a breast reduction?

What level of private health insurance covers breast reduction surgery?

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Some extra context before you start reading 

This article will be most relevant to people who were assigned female at birth and continue to identify with that gender. However, we’ve included information that might also be helpful for some nonbinary people, trans men, and cis men. 

Long story short

Breast reduction surgery involves removing fat, tissue, and skin from your breasts

There are lots of reasons people might want their breasts reduced, including because their breasts are causing them physical pain

Medicare and health insurance might help cover the costs of your breast reduction surgery

It depends whether your surgery is considered medically necessary or not; it might instead be classed as cosmetic surgery.

There are pros and cons to using the private health system for your breast reduction surgery

Pros can include picking your doctor and maybe even having a shorter wait, but you could also have out-of-pocket costs.

What is breast reduction surgery?

In a breast reduction surgery, a doctor removes excess fat, glandular tissue, and skin from your breasts to reduce the size of one or both of your breasts.

While it’s technically a kind of ‘boob job’, reduction surgery is usually more about function rather than form (although there’s nothing wrong with getting the best of both worlds!).

Why do people get breast reductions?

How much does breast reduction surgery cost?

In Australia, there are typically two paths for paying surgery costs. The first is using the public health system, where Medicare covers all your medically necessary surgery and hospital expenses. The other is being a private patient. Medicare covers some of your surgery costs (assuming the surgery is eligible) and your health insurance covers some, too. Depending on the surgeon’s fees, you might have out-of-pocket costs for their services as a private patient (known as ‘gap’ fees).

Unfortunately, covering the costs of breast reduction surgery isn’t always this straightforward.

Medicare and the public health system are pretty adamant about not paying for cosmetic surgeries. This means Medicare only covers your breast reduction surgery costs if the surgery is to treat medical symptoms, like the back and shoulder pain common with breast hypertrophy. You (and your doctor) will likely need to show how your breasts affect your daily life and, possibly, what other measures you’ve tried.

FYI, it’s not just women who need to show that the surgery is necessary – cis male patients with gynaecomastia need to do the same. This requirement means gender-affirming surgeries or breast reductions for improved self-confidence will likely count as cosmetic procedures to Medicare and won’t be covered.

So, does private health insurance help with breast reduction surgery costs? It depends.

Like with Medicare, you’ll likely need to show that the procedure is medically necessary. But if you choose to go private, you’ll also be able to choose your treating doctor. Picking a doctor you trust – possibly because of their experience and success with breast reductions – might reassure you about how your breasts will look after surgery.

Typical breast reduction costs for private patients in 2023–24

Source: Medical Costs Finder – Bilateral mastectomy for gynecomastia, Breast reduction, Unilateral breast reduction

These are the amounts patients typically paid for these services, rounded to the nearest dollar. They do not include hospital payments such as excesses, co-payments, or other payments. These fees may vary depending on your situation. Not all patients had out-of-pocket costs; those who didn’t aren’t included in these figures. Data retrieved November 2025.

Helpful tip

Keep in mind that your private health insurer might not have an agreement with every hospital in the country. Finding an agreement hospital can help keep your out-of-pocket costs lower for your hospital stay, like covering accommodation fees. It’s a similar to how insurers have gap agreements with different doctors.   

Andres Gutierrez

General Manager – Health

What other out-of-pocket costs could I have for breast reduction surgery?

If your private health insurance is helping pay some of your breast reduction surgery costs, you might have a couple of other out-of-pocket costs to look out for, namely:

• your excess: the amount you pay upon admission to hospital
• any co-payments: the amount you pay for each day you’re in hospital for the procedure.

Not sure if you have these costs or how much they’ll be? Crack open your policy documents. They’ll be listed in there.

Something to note, too, is that you typically don’t need to have to spend the night in hospital after breast reduction surgery. Most patients go home the same day. So, if you have a co-payment listed on your policy, you’ll likely only need to pay it the once.

What other or ongoing costs are there for a breast reduction?

All surgeries carry risk, and there’s always the possibility of complications that can require further treatment – and further costs.  

Breast reduction complications include bleeding; infection; fluid accumulation; and temporary or permanent damage to deeper structures in and around your breasts, like your nerves, muscles, and lungs.

How long will I have to wait for a breast reduction?

In 2023–24, the median wait for a breast reduction in the public system was 325 days, with nearly 40% of patients waiting over a year for their surgery.²Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – Waiting times for elective surgery  This longer wait might be caused, at least somewhat, by how tricky it can be to have a breast reduction in a public hospital. It’s not a matter of proving the need to Medicare; some public hospitals just don’t offer the surgery.

Private health insurance, however, has a reputation for shorter waits for surgery in general. You might find your surgery is scheduled in sooner if you’re a private patient. As a private patient, too, you have the option to request a date that works for you. This might be when you can afford to take some time off work or you aren’t about to go on holiday overseas.

If you’re keen to have breast reduction surgery as a private patient, keep in mind that health insurance comes with waiting periods. You’ll need to hold your policy for the set amount of time before you can start claiming.

Usually, hospital cover only comes with a maximum waiting period of two months. But if the condition you’re looking to treat is pre-existing, this jumps up to 12 months. While it varies on a case-by-case basis, your reason for breast reduction surgery might be treated as a pre-existing condition.

What level of private health insurance covers breast reduction surgery?

Private hospital cover in Australia is divided into four tiers. Each tier covers more procedures than the last. So, a bronze tier policy covers some procedures, while a silver tier policy covers everything a bronze tier does plus a few more. A gold tier policy covers all eligible procedures.

Bronze and higher tier policies cover medically necessary breast surgery, including for gynaecomastia, just make sure you always confirm your item numbers with your specialist so you can ensure you are correctly covered.

Where can I find and compare health insurance?

Finding a health insurance policy that covers a specific surgery can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. At iSelect, we make it easy to compare a range of health insurance options from different providers. All you need to do is use our online comparison tool or speak with a health comparison expert on 1800 784 772.