The Residents’ Experience Survey asks older people living in residential aged care homes about their experiences. Results of the survey can help aged care providers, government and the aged care sector better understand what matters most to residents and where care and services can improve.
Survey rounds
We have completed 4 rounds of the Residents’ Experience Survey:
| Year | Participating aged care homes | Resident surveys completed |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2,645 | 37,443 |
| 2023 | 2,625 | 37,382 |
| 2024 | 2,603 | 36,221 |
| 2025 | 2,589 | 44,318 |
The 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey round is open.
What we heard in 2025
Thank you to everyone who supported or took part in the 2025 survey.
Most residents reported positive experiences in residential aged care in 2025. Overall satisfaction was the highest since the survey began. 89% of residents said they would recommend their aged care home, up from 85% in 2023. 89% also said their home was well run.
Positive responses improved across almost all survey questions from 2023 to 2025. Strong results continued for being treated with respect (96%), feeling safe (96%), staff kindness and caring (96%), receiving the care they need (94%), and staff knowing what they are doing (89%).
Residents also reported high levels of independence, autonomy and freedom of choice. 93% said they have a say in daily activities, and 89% said they were encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
Staff communication remained positive. 85% said staff followed up when issues were raised, and 81% said staff explain things to them.
Experiences varied across resident groups. Rural and remote residents were more likely to respond positively across all questions. Veterans were more likely to recommend their aged care home. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents were less likely to give a positive response for feeling safe (93% compared with 96%) and treated with respect (93% compared with 96%). Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) residents were less likely to give positive responses for liking the food (67% compared with 71%), recommending their home (88% compared with 90%) and getting the care they need (93% compared with 95%).
The survey included 2 open-ended questions so residents can describe what they value most and what they would change. Residents most valued staff kindness and responsiveness (43.7%). Food and dining (39.5%) were the main theme residents wanted to change, followed by staffing levels and training (32.7%).
Food remained the lowest-rated fixed-response question. In 2025, 69% of residents said they liked the food, similar to 70% in 2023 and 2024.
We have published a report and an infographic that:
- summarises the key findings from the 2025 round and compares these findings to previous years
- identifies positive changes and areas of improvement in the residential aged care experience.
Residents' Experience Survey – Understanding Residents' Experiences (2023-2025)
Residents' Experience Survey 2025 – Key findings
Explore previous findings
The following table compares the survey results from 2022 to 2025.
The table shows the percentage of residents who gave a response to the 12 survey questions from 2022 to 2025.
For each question, results are grouped into 4 responses: ‘always’, ‘most of the time’, ‘some of the time’ and ‘never’.
The final question about recommending the aged care home was not part of the question set in 2022.
2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Survey question | Always | Most of the time | Some of the time | Never | Always | Most of the time | Some of the time | Never | Always | Most of the time | Some of the time | Never | Always | Most of the time | Some of the time | Never |
| Do staff treat you with respect? | 70% | 24% | 5% | 1% | 71% | 24% | 5% | 0% | 66% | 29% | 4% | 0% | 68% | 28% | 4% | 0% |
| Do you feel safe here? | 73% | 22% | 4% | 1% | 75% | 21% | 5% | 1% | 75% | 21% | 4% | 1% | 78% | 19% | 3% | 0% |
| Is this place well run? | 40% | 45% | 13% | 2% | 42% | 45% | 12% | 2% | 44% | 44% | 11% | 1% | 45% | 44% | 10% | 1% |
| Do you get the care you need? | 54% | 36% | 10% | 1% | 57% | 34% | 8% | 1% | 62% | 31% | 6% | 1% | 64% | 30% | 5% | 0% |
| Do staff know what they are doing? | 39% | 47% | 13% | 1% | 40% | 46% | 13% | 1% | 42% | 46% | 11% | 0% | 43% | 46% | 10% | 0% |
| Are you encouraged to do as much as possible for yourself? | 47% | 34% | 14% | 5% | 55% | 30% | 11% | 4% | 58% | 30% | 10% | 2% | 60% | 29% | 9% | 2% |
| Do staff explain things to you? | 37% | 38% | 20% | 4% | 41% | 36% | 19% | 4% | 43% | 37% | 17% | 3% | 45% | 36% | 16% | 2% |
| Do you like the food here? | 27% | 43% | 26% | 5% | 26% | 44% | 26% | 4% | 29% | 41% | 25% | 6% | 27% | 42% | 26% | 5% |
| Do staff follow up when you raise things with them? | 39% | 40% | 17% | 5% | 42% | 40% | 15% | 2% | 44% | 40% | 15% | 2% | 47% | 38% | 13% | 2% |
| Are staff kind and caring? | 65% | 29% | 6% | 0% | 66% | 29% | 5% | 0% | 66% | 29% | 5% | 0% | 69% | 27% | 4% | 0% |
| Do you have a say in your daily activities? | 52% | 28% | 13% | 6% | 64% | 23% | 9% | 3% | 68% | 23% | 7% | 2% | 72% | 21% | 5% | 2% |
| How likely are you to recommend this residential aged care home to someone? | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 59% | 26% | 9% | 6% | 61% | 27% | 8% | 4% | 64% | 25% | 7% | 3% |
Residents' Experience Survey 2024 – Summary fact sheet
Residents' Experience Survey 2022 and 2023 – Summary fact sheet
