The first update of the Albanese Government’s aged care Star Ratings initiative reveals an extra 41 services received 4 and 5 stars.
This means an increase in residential providers delivering care at ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ quality.
The October to December quarter update shows aged care homes are maintaining consistency in the quality of the care they are providing.
Encouragingly, the number of services receiving 1 and 2 stars has reduced by more than a third since Star Ratings was launched in December, decreasing from 8% to 5% of all providers needing to improve their care.
Since its introduction in December 2022, the Star Ratings system has offered a previously unavailable insight into the quality of care delivered by individual residential aged care homes.
Residential services are allocated an Overall Star Rating based on 4 sub-category ratings – Residents’ Experience, Compliance, Staffing and Quality Measures.
Star Ratings are dynamic, with compliance results updated daily.
This first major update reflects reported data from the October – December quarter informing 2 of the 4 sub-category ratings – Staffing and Quality Measures.
Star Ratings is informed by data collected by the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission across a number of critical areas including direct feedback from residents, the National Aged Care Mandatory Quality Indicator Program, and compliance assessments.
What Star Ratings tell us right now
The quarterly update shows that the majority of aged care homes meet or exceed the level of care expected – with 41% receiving 4 or 5 stars.
However, it also shows that 5% of services are still falling short – with 125 services receiving just 1 or 2 stars.
- 54 services (2%) achieved 5 stars (excellent)
- 964 services (39%) achieved 4 stars (good)
- 1,357 services (54%) received 3 stars (acceptable)
- 119 services (5%) received 2 stars (improvement required)
- 6 services (0%) received 1 star (significant improvement required).
What’s changed
There are 13 fewer services with a 1 star than the previous quarter.
There are 7 more services with 4 stars and 34 more with 5 stars this quarter.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Aged Care, Anika Wells:
“I’m pleased we’re seeing incremental improvements in the ratings but there’s a lot more work to be done in aged care.
“I encourage providers to continue to look at ways they can improve the care they offer.
“Star Ratings offers insider access for the first time to those it impacts most – older people and their families.
“Everyone can now check how a particular service is performing and use that knowledge to make choices about the best residential care for themselves or their loved one.
“Star Ratings helps providers identify areas where they need to improve – and to monitor that improvement over time.
“I encourage all providers to visit the department’s website today and download a copy of the Star Ratings Improvement Manual.
“This guide offers practical examples to help you plan, implement and assess quality improvement activities in your facilities and lift the quality of care for your residents.”
