Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Alkira Gardens is 4.08 out of 5, compared with a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and one is worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Food enjoyment is above average, with lower reported spending
88% enjoy meals vs 70.2% across other homes; spending is $12 vs a $16 sector median.
Residents consistently describe respectful, caring staff
100% positive on respect and 100% on caring staff, versus 95.9% and 96.0% across other homes.
Food enjoyment improved in the latest survey
88% positive in 2025, compared with 74% in 2024: 14 percentage points higher.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 229 vs 228 minutes; registered nurses: 43 vs 45 minutes per resident per day.
Sources and Explanation
This is a programmatic interpretation of published data, not an in-person inspection or a separate expert-assigned score. The figures are the Elderberry Index and its four government component ratings; a measure the home has no published rating for is left out. Our rating methodology.
Ratings: August 2026. Survey comparisons: 2025 interview responses from that extract. Other Australian homes in the same ratings extract; survey comparisons also require the same interview year. Each eligible home has equal weight; missing/invalid values excluded. These are descriptive comparisons, not resident-weighted or adjusted for differences in care needs.
How findings are selected
Survey gaps of at least 3 percentage points, rating gaps of at least 0.3 stars, and changes of at least 10 percentage points can qualify. These are editorial selection thresholds, not tests of statistical significance. Benchmarks need at least 30 homes. Each side shows up to three eligible findings; missing values never become negative findings. Specific combined food evidence and sustained care-target results are prioritised, then larger differences. Respect and caring are grouped when both qualify.
Food spending uses the My Aged Care sector median for Jan–Mar 2026; resident enjoyment comes from the 2025 survey. The combined finding reports two separate observations from different reporting periods; it does not establish that spending caused the survey result. Year-to-year survey samples may differ and respondent counts are unavailable. Care consistency uses the latest four submitted, quality-checked care-minute records and direct RN minutes without EN top-up.
A lower compliance rating is a comparison with other homes, not a claim of an active sanction. Higher expenditure alone is not treated as better care. Unadjusted clinical incident measures are not used to rank quality here.
My Aged Care home profile · Government Star Ratings extract
Benchmark populations
| Measure | Mean | Other homes |
|---|---|---|
| Elderberry Index | 3.81 | 2365 |
| Residents’ experience | 3.62 | 2434 |
| Compliance | 4.83 | 2395 |
| Staffing | 3.18 | 2454 |
| Quality measures | 3.06 | 2456 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.86% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.32% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.47% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.47% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.59% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.81% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.25% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.18% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Alkira Gardens?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 100% of residents surveyed at Alkira Gardens answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff follow up when they raise things, above the 85.2% average across other homes by 14.8 percentage points. When residents were asked whether staff explain things to them (94% against 81.8%) and whether the home is well run (100% against 89.3%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
At Alkira Gardens, answers were at least 3 percentage points above the average for other homes on all 10 questions other than food.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
When residents surveyed at Alkira Gardens were asked whether they feel safe, 88% answered “always” and 12% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 71% answered “always” and 29% “most of the time”.
Do residents have a say in daily life?
On choice and independence at Alkira Gardens, the share answering “always” or “most of the time” was 100% when asked whether they have a say in their daily activities and 94% when asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
What is the food like at Alkira Gardens?
When residents surveyed at Alkira Gardens for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they like the food, 88% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 17.8 percentage points above the average of 70.2% across other homes. The share rose from 74% in 2024. Another 12% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, Alkira Gardens spent $12 per resident per day on food, 25% below the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.09 per resident per day, 68% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Alkira Gardens, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all cooked fresh. All meals are prepared on site.
Do residents enjoy the food?
Residents who answered “Always” or “Most of the time”.
88% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Alkira Gardens spend on resident care?
Total spending at Alkira Gardens in the 2024–25 financial year was $373.20 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 68.0% of it. Care and nursing spending of $253.76 was 4% below the sector median of $264.85. These amounts are the home’s costs, not the fees a resident pays.
Where does the rest of the spending go?
Spending on other categories included accommodation and maintenance ($36.11), administration ($33.54), and cleaning and laundry ($17.10) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($158.44) and registered nurses ($59).
How much care and nursing does Alkira Gardens provide?
In January to March 2026, Alkira Gardens reported 229 minutes of care per resident per day, 1 minute above its target of 228 minutes. Registered nurses provided 43 of those minutes, 2 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 45.
Alkira Gardens met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 224 to 229 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 229 minutes, personal care workers provided 182 (79.5%), followed by registered nurses (43 minutes, 18.8%) and enrolled nurses (4 minutes, 1.7%). In the same quarter, Alkira Gardens also reported spending on physiotherapists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
