As one of Australia’s largest residential aged care providers, we understand the essential role we play in meeting the growing need for older Australians to have access to high quality, safe and affordable residential aged care.
We are committed to continually improving the quality of care and services for our residents. We work cooperatively with government and aged care regulators to implement the ongoing reform program in aged care.
In December 2022, the Australian Government introduced Star Ratings for all aged care homes. Star Ratings is part of a larger group of reforms that are being introduced progressively across the aged care sector including mandated nursing care minutes and changes to how aged care is funded.
Together with feedback from Estia Health Customer Experience surveys and Insights Reports at each of our homes, Star Ratings will help older Australians and their families make informed choices about selecting an aged care home.
Star ratings at Estia Health
Star ratings at Estia Health
Each Estia Health home and all Australian residential aged care services have received an initial rating out of five stars. These ratings are updated every three months and are available through the government My Aged Care website.
The majority of aged care homes in Australia have received an initial Star Rating of between three (acceptable) and four (good) stars.
The Star Ratings are calculated based on four areas that are important to older Australians and their families when making a choice about residential aged care:
1. Quality Indicators (15%): how an aged care service performs on a relative basis against five different quality indicators.
2. Service Compliance (30%): performance assessed by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission against the clinical and quality standards which apply to all providers.
3. Residents’ Experience (33%): scores based on interviews conducted by an independent assessor with at least 10% of older Australians living in residential aged care about their overall experience at their aged care home.
4. Staffing Minutes (22%): information about clinical staffing levels against targets set by the Department of Health and Aged Care, which apply from October 2023.
Star Ratings will be one way for prospective residents and their families to assess the suitability of an aged care home for their needs. However, Star Ratings do not cover all the elements that would typically be considered by incoming residents and their families.
For example, the staffing measure only includes clinical roles such as Registered and Enrolled Nurses and Carers, whereas most aged care homes, including those operated by Estia Health, operate holistic models of care including other roles such as Lifestyle Coordinators and Assistants, Allied Health and Food Service Assistants, which are not captured by the rating.
It is important prospective residents and their families spend time at the home, understand the model of care, including the preparation and provision of meals, and get the opportunity to meet key management.
Should you wish to discuss the Star Ratings for any of our homes, please get in touch directly with the Residential Aged Care Manager at the home.
Please see here for further information on reforms to Australian aged care.
