What the Star Ratings represent
Aged care homes receive an Overall Star Rating of between 1 and 5 stars, and a rating across each of the 4 sub-categories.
The more stars an aged care home receives, the better the quality of care.
The 4 sub-categories
Residents’ Experience
This sub-category represents the experiences of residents at their aged care home captured through the face-to-face annual Residents’ Experience Survey with at least 10% of residents. The survey asks 14 questions about:
- experiences of safety
- treatment from staff
- food standards
- feelings of independence and belonging.
Compliance
This sub-category is based on regulatory decisions by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission about aged care homes’ compliance with their obligations, including with the Aged Care Quality Standards.
It is based on the type of formal regulatory notice issued by the commission or period without specific formal regulatory notices being issued.
Staffing
This sub-category measures the average amount of care time – compared with minimum average care targets – that residents at each aged care home receive. Care time is based on care minutes delivered by:
- registered nurses
- enrolled nurses
- personal care workers
- assistants in nursing.
The average minimum care minute targets for each aged care home varies depending on the specific care needs of their residents. An independent assessment under the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) funding model determines resident care needs.
The Staffing rating reflects the degree to which an aged are home meets or exceeds its minimum care minute targets.
Quality Measures
This sub-category describes the quality of care provided to residents across 5 quality indicators under the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program. These are:
- pressure injuries
- restrictive practices
- unplanned weight loss
- falls and major injury
- medication management.
We adjust the data when calculating the Quality Measures rating to account for differing levels of resident needs. This ensures a fair comparison between aged care homes.
Risk adjustment uses AN-ACC classification and assessment data to understand variation in the care needs of residents in each aged care home. We adjust:
- pressure injuries data – using residents’ Braden Scale scores (a validated tool used to measure elements of risk that contribute to pressure injuries) and their mobility (from their individual AN-ACC assessment)
- unplanned weight loss data – using residents’ AN-ACC classification, and their frailty status (from their individual AN-ACC assessment)
- falls and major injury data – using residents’ mobility data (from their individual AN-ACC assessment).
Restrictive practice and medication management are not risk adjusted.
How Star Ratings are calculated
Star Ratings applies a combination of rules to determine the Star Ratings for each aged care home.
Each of the sub-category ratings carry a different weighting. This was decided through consultation with older people and providers, based on:
- the degree of importance they noted
- the quality or maturity of the data.
Sub-category weightings
- Residents’ Experience – 33% weighting towards the Overall Star Rating.
- Compliance – 30% weighting towards the Overall Star Rating.
- Staffing – 22% weighting towards the Overall Star Rating
- Quality Measures – 15% weighting towards the Overall Star Rating.
For more information about the rules and calculations used for Star Ratings, see the:
Star Ratings updates
We update Star Ratings at least every quarter, and publish them on the ‘Find a provider’ tool.
We update the sub-categories at different intervals:
- Residents’ Experience is updated quarterly for aged care homes that have recently completed the annual Residents’ Experience Survey.
- Compliance is updated:
- daily in response to new regulatory decisions
- weekly in response to changes in accreditation decisions of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
- Staffing and Quality Measures are updated quarterly.
The Overall Star Rating automatically recalculates when new data is available.
How to search for Star Ratings
Step 1
Visit the My Aged Care website and click on the ‘Find a provider’ tool to search for a provider.
Step 2
Select either the ‘Find a provider by location’ or ‘Find a provider by name’ tile.
Step 3
If you are searching for a provider by location:
- enter the suburb or postcode
- select the care type ‘Aged care homes’
- select the room type preference or choose ‘I don’t mind’, to find all available rooms
- click the ‘Search’ button.
Results can be further refined by selecting other options such as specialised care, language or rating.
If you are searching a provider by name:
- select the provider type from the dropdown box ‘Aged care homes’
- type the provider’s name in the search bar
- click the ‘Search’ button.
Step 4
Scroll down to see search results including the Overall Star Rating.
Click on provider title to see sub-category ratings and further information about the provider.
Click the ‘Compare providers’ button at the top of the page to compare selected providers.
If there is no rating
In some cases, a provider may have a ‘No rating’ label.
This may be because it:
- is a new provider
- is operating under new ownership
- has recently reopened after major repairs or renovations
- is experiencing technical (data or IT) issues
- has received a temporary exemption for extenuating circumstances – for example, due to significant health or weather-related circumstances.
The Overall Star Rating shows only once data across all 4 sub-categories has been reported.
For new providers, new ownership or recent reopening, it will take up to 12 months before there is enough data for a Star Rating. However, if the provider receives a non-compliance decision before their 12-month assessment, their Compliance rating and Overall Star Rating will be updated immediately.
If there is a 1-star rating
A 1-star rating generally means that significant improvement is needed.
But a provider may receive a rating of 1 star without data for the Residents’ Experience, Quality Measures, or Staffing sub-categories. It means the provider chose not to provide the data needed. These providers have not been granted an exemption.
If there is no survey response data
To ensure the Residents’ Experience Survey results are anonymous, participants’ identities are removed from their responses. Smaller providers might not have enough participants to enable adequate de-identification. In this case, the result will show a Residents’ Experience rating, but not the survey response data.
Learn more
See our Star Ratings resources for more information.
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