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Since it was introduced in 2022, Star Ratings for residential aged care has seen a 30% increase in the number of homes with 4 and 5 stars and an increase in reported levels of satisfaction from residents.
69% of all homes across Australia are now rated as delivering good care (4 stars) or excellent care (5 stars).
Feedback from residents is an important part of a home’s Overall Star Rating. According to findings from the 2023 Resident Survey, 96% of residents felt safe in their aged care home and 95% felt that staff treated them with respect and were kind and caring.
How Star Ratings are calculated
Each aged care home receives an Overall Star Rating between 1 and 5 stars to reflect the quality of care provided and how it compares to other homes: the more stars, the better the quality and safety of care.
The Overall Star Rating is based on four sub-category ratings of key aspects of care, including:
- Residents’ Experience – based on how people feel about the care they get. Around 20% of all residents are surveyed each year by an independent survey team about their overall experience at their home.
- Compliance – how well the home is meeting its obligations to provide safe, quality care and services. If an aged care home does not fix specific issues it has been directed to fix, its Compliance rating will drop below 3 stars (an acceptable level of care).
- Staffing – measures the amount of care provided to residents by nurses and care workers – this is compared with the minimum average care targets set by the Australian Government.
- Quality Measures – based on five crucial areas that are important indicators of care quality: falls and major injury, unplanned weight loss, pressure injuries, how medicines are used and the use of restrictive practices such as physical restraint.
Each sub-category carries a different weight in the Overall Rating. The Residents’ Experience rating makes up the largest component at 33%, followed by the Compliance rating at 30%; Staffing rating at 22% and Quality Measures rating at 15%.
Star Ratings is informed by data collected from a range of sources including from residents themselves, the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, and aged care providers. Ratings are regularly updated and recalculated when new data is available.
How Star Ratings is helping families find homes that meet their needs
Star Ratings was a crucial recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to improve transparency, accountability and quality in aged care.
Star Ratings was developed with older people to ensure it reflects what truly matters to older people, their families and carers when researching the quality of aged care homes online. Star Ratings can be a useful guide in the early stages of planning for residential aged care.
Star Ratings helps you to search for the sort of care that is the best fit for you or your loved one. For example, you can search for a provider that employs staff who speak your language or is inclusive to your faith.
Star Ratings also helps aged care providers to see where they are performing well and how they can improve.
At 94, aged care resident, Jim Carey says the Star Ratings system is an enormous help for people trying to decide if aged care is for them.
“The introduction of Star Ratings was a very necessary thing for the creation of the aged care sector that we now have. Lots of people possibly get to a stage in life where they stop and think, ‘Do I need to have care all of the time or some of the time? Or am I going to like changing from my own home?’
“When Star Ratings were introduced, they gave the entire community a way to look at aged care homes and know that if they had a four or five-star rating, they’d be pretty well managed, pretty well run, and obviously well-established.
“The ease with which you can choose an aged care home has been made very simple by the introduction of Star Ratings. It’s something that is constantly under review, and you can place a great deal of faith in looking at Star Ratings, knowing that they’re up to date.
“Anyone considering a change in home style could do a lot worse than coming to an aged care home.”
To learn more about Star Ratings visit: www.health.gov.au/StarRatings.
