Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Arcare Maroochydore is 3.45 out of 5, compared with a national average of 3.81. Three findings are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 210 vs 209 minutes; registered nurses: 39 vs 43 minutes per resident per day.
Fewer residents consistently feel safe
71% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 96.5% across other homes.
Fewer residents say staff explain things consistently
58% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 81.8% across other homes.
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 | 96.47% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.33% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.48% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.49% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.60% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.83% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.26% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.21% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.20% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Arcare Maroochydore?
When residents surveyed at Arcare Maroochydore for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they feel safe, 71% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 25.5 percentage points below the average of 96.5% across other homes. When residents were asked whether staff explain things to them (58% against 81.8%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (65% against 85.2%), answers were also below the average for other homes.
At Arcare Maroochydore, answers were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes on 8 of the 10 questions other than food, and within 3 percentage points on the rest.
What should you ask about on a visit?
On a visit, you can ask about what the home does when a resident says they feel unsafe. When residents were asked whether they feel safe, 47% answered “always”, 24% “most of the time” and 29% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents get the care they need?
When residents surveyed at Arcare Maroochydore were asked whether they get the care they need, 35% answered “always” and 53% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Arcare Maroochydore?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 71% of residents surveyed at Arcare Maroochydore said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, within 3 percentage points of the 70.3% average across other homes. The share fell from 74% in 2024. Another 18% answered “some of the time” and 12% “never”.
In January to March 2026, Arcare Maroochydore spent $14 per resident per day on food, 13% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.32 per resident per day, 14% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Arcare Maroochydore, 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”.
71% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Arcare Maroochydore spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Arcare Maroochydore spent $396.60 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 62.4% of it. Care and nursing spending of $247.31 was 7% 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?
Other categories included administration ($41.84), accommodation and maintenance ($35.18), and cleaning and laundry ($25.55) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($127.21) and registered nurses ($54.94).
How much care and nursing does Arcare Maroochydore provide?
Arcare Maroochydore reported 210 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 1 minute above its target of 209 minutes. Of those minutes, 39 came from registered nurses, 4 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 43.
Arcare Maroochydore met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Across those four quarters, minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 209 to 213.
Who provides that care?
Personal care workers provided 150 of the 210 minutes (71.4%), followed by registered nurses (39 minutes, 18.6%) and enrolled nurses (21 minutes, 10.0%). In the same quarter, Arcare Maroochydore also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
