A report presented to the ACT Legislative Assembly has found the median wait for elective surgery is 45 days, which is higher than the national average of 35 days.

The number of people waiting longer than recommended has increased to 1355 in 2014-15 from 726 a year earlier.

This is despite ACT public hospitals performing 11,875 elective surgeries in twelve months, the highest figure recorded and a one percent increase on 2013-14 records.

The ACT Health Directorate has blamed the waiting list on increasing demand with presentations to emergency departments also increasing significantly.

"The demand for elective surgery and the number of additions to the elective surgery waiting list continued to increase in 2014–15, which has impacted the ability to meet the targets," the report said.

"In 2014–15, 824 more people were added to the elective surgery waiting list than in 2013–14, a six per cent increase.

"Despite the increase in demand, ACT public hospitals have ensured that patients can access elective surgery as quickly as possible, according to their urgency category."

Calvary Hospital performed 5255 elective surgery procedures during 2014-15 along with 1615 emergency surgery procedures and 1833 births.

The latest ACT Health annual report comes as new data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reveals Canberrans are waiting longer for elective surgery than most other states.

The report found 81 percent of ACT patients were admitted to hospital within the recommended time compared to 98 percent in NSW and 96 percent in Queensland.

Almost all category one patients were admitted within the recommended time although category two and three patients waited between 139 and 148 days on average.

AIHW spokesperson Jenny Hargreaves said there were significant variations in waiting lists across the nation ranging from 27 days in Queensland to 55 days in Tasmania.

The ACT government has committed $14.8 million over two years to slash the waiting list with an additional 500 surgeries expected to be completed in 2015-16.

"ACT Health is undertaking an in-depth analysis of elective surgery in the territory, with a focus on improving theatre utilisation and session allocation to more accurately reflect demand for specific specialty groups," the annual report said.

"We have built simulation models that predict the effect of changes to managing elective surgery. These findings will assist ACT Health in developing a surgical re-alignment strategy."

The directorate will launch a new Centralised Waitlist Service to detail current waiting times for elective surgery next year after prompting from an auditor general report.

"The site will allow users of public hospital elective surgery facilities to become more informed about potential waiting times and assists them in making informed decisions about the doctors undertaking their care," the report said.