Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre is 3.6 out of 5, compared with a national average of 3.81. One finding stands out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Respectful treatment is above the survey average
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 95.9% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
50% positive in 2025, compared with 80% in 2024: 30 percentage points lower.
Enjoying the food is below the survey average
50% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 70.3% across other homes.
Residents’ experience rating trails the national average
3 out of 5, compared with 3.62 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
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 | 3.07 | 2456 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.86% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.33% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.47% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.49% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.60% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.82% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.28% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.20% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What is the food like at Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 50% of residents surveyed at Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 20.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 80% in 2024. Another 29% answered “some of the time” and 21% “never”.
In January to March 2026, Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre spent $16 per resident per day on food, in line with the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.05 per resident per day, 82% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all cooked fresh. Of all meals, 68% are prepared on site and the rest off site.
Do residents enjoy the food?
Residents who answered “Always” or “Most of the time”.
50% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
What do residents say about Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 75% of residents surveyed at Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff know what they are doing, below the 89.5% average across other homes by 14.5 percentage points. When residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things (75% against 85.2%) and whether the home is well run (84% against 89.3%), answers were also below the average for other homes.
The largest gap above other homes was when residents were asked whether staff treat them with respect: 100% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 95.9%.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about the training staff receive. Of residents asked whether staff know what they are doing, 29% answered “always”, 46% “most of the time” and 25% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
When residents surveyed at Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre were asked whether they feel safe, 67% answered “always” and 25% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 38% answered “always” and 58% “most of the time”.
How does Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre spend on resident care?
Spending on care and nursing at Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre in the 2024–25 financial year was $297.61 per resident per day, 12% above the sector median of $264.85. Total spending was $509.32 per resident per day. These figures are the home’s costs, not the fees a resident pays.
Where does the rest of the spending go?
Spending on other categories included administration ($83.17), accommodation and maintenance ($60.02), and cleaning and laundry ($26.30) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($187.34) and registered nurses ($67.92).
How much care and nursing does Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre provide?
Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre reported 223 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 3 minutes above its target of 220 minutes. Registered nurses provided 46 of those minutes, 2 minutes above the registered-nurse target of 44.
Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre met both its total and registered-nurse targets in three of the last four quarters. Across those four quarters, minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 222 to 234.
Who provides that care?
Of the 223 minutes, personal care workers provided 177 (79.4%), followed by registered nurses (46 minutes, 20.6%). In the same quarter, Anglicare The Donald Coburn Centre also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
