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How Much Does a Rhinoplasty Cost in Australia?
How Much Does a Rhinoplasty Cost in Australia?
Written by
Madeline Pettet
Edited by
Andrew Kemp
Reviewed by
Andres GutierrezCompare Health Insurance Policies
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What is a rhinoplasty?
Long story short
A rhinoplasty is surgery that reshapes your nose for aesthetic or functional reasons
Sometimes, a rhinoplasty might be medically necessary, like if you have trouble breathing.
Medicare covers medically necessary rhinoplasties
Your health insurance might also cover them; it depends on your hospital policy tier.
You might have out-of-pocket costs as a private patient
But these can be well worth it for other benefits, like choosing your doctor or a possible shorter wait.
What is a rhinoplasty?
A rhinoplasty, often called a nose job or nose surgery, reshapes your nose, particularly the outer structure. This is different to a septoplasty – another kind of nose surgery – which focuses specifically on reshaping a deviated septum (the nasal passages or airways inside your nose). Sometimes you can need a blend of both surgical procedures – a process called septorhinoplasty.
Rhinoplasties are commonly considered cosmetic surgery, i.e. a surgery just to change the appearance of your nose. But they can also be a medically necessary plastic surgery.
For instance, you might need to fix a structural problem with your nose that’s causing breathing difficulties. You might have been born with the issue or developed it later in life after an injury or infection.
How much is a rhinoplasty?
If you have an out-of-pocket cost for your rhinoplasty, it could range from $500 to $14,000 – at least according to Medical Costs Finder’s data for 2023–24. It depends on your circumstances, including your private health insurance.
Before we dive further into the numbers, remember that we’re only talking costs connected to medically necessary surgery, rather than cosmetic rhinoplasties.
Does Medicare cover rhinoplasty and nose surgery?
Medicare usually covers medically necessary nose jobs, so you do not have to pay for your surgery. Thanks to Medicare, you can go to your local public hospital as a public patient and walk out after your surgery with your rebate taking care of all the bills.
Does private health insurance cover rhinoplasty procedures?
Private health insurance can cover some of the costs of medically necessary rhinoplasties (you’ll need to double-check what your specific policy covers, though), but you might still have a bill to pay. Private patients’ out-of-pocket expenses in 2023–24 ranged from $500 to $14,000, however, private patients typically paid $4,400 for their rhinoplasty. Your situation could be different, though. It depends how the bill breaks down.
As a private patient, Medicare pays 75% of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item fee to your treating specialist, anaesthetist, and the rest of your surgery team. Your private health fund covers that other 25%. But this might not total to 100% of your bill.
Specialist plastic surgeons working in the private sector can charge more than the MBS fee. This can mean you have out-of-pocket costs to cover (also known as a gap) – that $4,400. Check out the table below to see how private patients rhinoplasty costs broke down in 2023–24:
Medically necessary rhinoplasty costs for private patients
| Typical specialist fee | $6,700 |
| Medicare typically paid | $1,500 |
| Insurers typically paid | $800 |
| Patients typically paid | $4,400 |
Source: Medical Costs Finder – Rhinoplasty
Note: These are the amounts patients typically paid for these services, rounded to the nearest dollar. The paid amounts do not add up to the total typical specialist fees as dollar amounts are the medians for that dataset only. 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 January 2026.
It’s worth remembering that surgery costs and hospital fees are different. Even if your health insurance covers the total cost of your surgery procedure, it might not entirely cover the cost of your hospital stay. We’ll explore hospital costs in more detail in the next section.
So, why do people opt to go private if it can mean out-of-pocket expenses? Because of the benefits of being a private patient.
There are lots of these, but for a rhinoplasty you might be most interested in being able to choose your doctor. For instance, you might want to go with a rhinoplasty surgeon with years of experience and who has a knack for blending function with form, reshaping your nose for easy breathing and an attractive look.
Helpful tip
FYI, if your plastic surgeon recommends a septorhinoplasty over a plain old rhinoplasty surgery, your costs could be different to those above.
It’s a good idea to ask about your surgeon’s fees during your initial consultation. You can even ask them for the MBS item numbers you’ll be charged and share these with your health insurance company to ensure everyone’s on the same page when it comes to prices. Don’t worry about being a bother – it’s your right to make an informed financial decision.
Andres Gutierrez
General Manager – Health
Are there other out-of-pocket costs for a rhinoplasty?
If you’re using your health insurance to help fund your rhinoplasty, you might want to double-check the fine print. This is where you’ll see other out-of-pocket costs, like any excesses or co-payments.
You might need to pay an excess when you’re admitted to hospital. It’s an amount of the hospital bill that you cover first before your insurance contributes. You’ll have picked your excess when you chose your health insurance policy.
Co-payments are a little like mini excesses. If your policy lists ones, you’ll pay it for every day you’re in hospital. Luckily, a nose job is usually a day surgery, so you’ll likely only have a single co-payment.
Are there additional or ongoing costs after a rhinoplasty?
Hopefully, you won’t have many expenses related to post-operative care for your rhinoplasty. Being gentle with your nose tends to be top of the self-care list.
However, as with any surgery, there are always risks and that can mean some extra costs. For instance, your nose may become infected following surgery, requiring further treatment. Following any aftercare guidance from your doctor can help minimise this risk.
Sometimes, a revision rhinoplasty might be needed. This could be the case if your specialist causes another nasal structural issue while fixing the first, like narrowing your nasal airways too much. Keep in mind that you’ll need to have realistic expectations about your rhinoplasty. A medically necessary or ‘functional’ rhinoplasty can improve the look and shape of your nose, but it’s not the main aim.
Unexpected outcomes aside, you’ll also have a follow-up appointment with your specialist. This is a chance for them to check everything is as it should be with your nose. Unfortunately, private health insurance can’t cover these consultation fees, but Medicare can cover all or some of the costs (depending on what your specialist charges).
How long will I have to wait for my rhinoplasty?
If you’re going through the public system, you might need to prepare for a long wait for nasal surgery. In 2024–25, 54% of public patients waited over a year for their rhinoplasty, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing.
But you might have a much shorter wait as a private patient – one of the perks of going private. Plus, you can even have a say in when your procedure is, like planning around upcoming holidays or when you can take time off to rest and recover.
Speaking of going private, keep in mind that private health insurance comes with waiting periods for new policy holders. Before you can claim on your cover, you’ll need to have served the waiting period.
If your rhinoplasty is to correct a nasal structure problem you already had signs or symptoms of when you took out your policy, chances are your insurance will treat this as a pre-existing condition. So, your maximum waiting period will be 12 months. However, if your reason for a rhinoplasty isn’t a pre-existing condition, your max waiting period would be two months.
What level of health insurance covers rhinoplasties?
Rhinoplasties are covered on all silver and gold hospital policies, under the plastic and reconstructive surgery clinical category. (Remember, that’s different to purely cosmetic procedures.) Health funds have the option to include them on bronze plus policies but that can be more of a lucky dip situation.
Where can I find and compare health insurance?
Ready to sniff out a great-value health insurance policy? iSelect has the nose for it! We make it easy to compare a range of health insurance options, including hospital cover, from different Australian health funds. All you need to do is give one of our health comparison experts a call on 1800 784 772. Or you can hop on over to our online comparison tool and find cover in minutes.
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