Aged Care Quality Software Star RatingsAbout the star rating system

12/11/2022

The Aged Care Royal Commission recommended the introduction of a ‘Trip Advisor’ style Star Ratings to enable the public to make informed decisions about the quality of every aged care facility in Australia. The Star Rating system is based on the current United States rating system and rates residential aged care facilities between 1 and 5 stars.

Overview of the Start Rating System

The star rating system was introduced in December 2022. The Residential Aged Care Star Ratings will be based on 4 categories. The categories and their weightings are:

Residents’ Experience – weighting 33%

At least 10% of older Australians living in residential aged care homes are interviewed face-to-face about their overall experience at their residential aged care home by a third-party vendor annually

Service Compliance with Accreditation – weighting 30%

Based on non-compliance decisions made by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission (ACQSC), reported daily)

Care Minutes – weighting 22%

The inclusion of care minutes was a key request from residents and their representatives during the consultation process. This data will be taken from a Provider’s QFR. This means if a Provider doesn’t complete the QFR their care minutes will not be included towards a Provider’s star rating.

Quality Indicator Program – weighting 15%

This program has been in place since July 2021 and requires Providers to collect and report on:

Pressure Injuries
Physical Restraint
Unplanned Weight Loss
Falls and Major Injury
Medication Management

Where can the public find the Star Ratings?

The Residential Aged Care Star Ratings will be published on the My Aged Care website (www.myagedcare.gov.au). Currently, there is work being completed on a Provider interface to this website that will allow a Provider to preview their ratings before they go live.

Overall Rating

Each category will have its own star rating and then given a weighting with an algorithm incorporating category weightings providing the overall star rating. The ratings will be between 1 to 5 stars with examples given:

1 Star = Below Standard

3 Star = Average

5 Star = Quite Outstanding

Improving your rating

We suggest a proactive approach to the public ratings system, including regular and structured surveys of your residents, family members and staff to ensure positive feelings are maintained. If feedback is sub-optimal, it is better to know sooner rather than later so improvements can be made prior to an external third-party vendor performing the survey. Acredia can assist with this via our family app – operators can easily gauge loved ones’ feedback safely within the secure Acredia environment. Acredia software also has many modules and reports to assist managers and executives in continuing to monitor and improve the following: