NSW tops national emergency waiting stats

Almost three quarters of Australian emergency patients are seen on time, the latest national hospital statistics show, with NSW the best performer and the ACT lagging behind.

An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report into emergency department care for 2012-13 found 73 per cent of all patients were seen within the allocated time for their triage category.

The result was a slight improvement on the previous year's figure of 72 per cent.

However, the ACT trailed behind the national average with a result of just 51 per cent.

The Northern Territory recorded a within time figure of 57 per cent.

NSW recorded the best result with 78 per cent seen on time.