Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Armadale Place Care Community is 2.86 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Two findings stand out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Kind and caring staff is above the survey average
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 96.0% across other homes.
Residents show greater confidence in staff skills
93% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 89.5% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Food spending and enjoyment both fall below their benchmarks
$13 a day vs a $16 sector median; 28% enjoy meals vs 70.3% across other homes.
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 214 vs 226 minutes; registered nurses: 39 vs 45 minutes per resident per day.
Staffing rating trails the national average
1 out of 5, compared with 3.19 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 | 3.19 | 2454 |
| Quality measures | 3.07 | 2456 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.86% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.34% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.48% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.48% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.60% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.82% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.29% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.20% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.20% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Armadale Place Care Community?
Asked in the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey whether the home is well run, 72% of residents surveyed at Armadale Place Care Community answered “always” or “most of the time”, 17.3 percentage points below the average of 89.3% across other homes. Answers were also below the average for other homes when residents were asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves (72% against 88.6%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (72% against 85.2%).
The largest gap above other homes was when residents were asked whether staff are kind and caring: 100% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 96.0%. In all, answers on 2 of the 10 questions other than food were at least 3 percentage points above the average for other homes.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about who runs the home day to day and how changes are communicated. When residents were asked whether the home is well run, 36% answered “always”, 36% “most of the time” and 29% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 93% of residents surveyed at Armadale Place Care Community answered “always”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 64% answered “always” and 21% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Armadale Place Care Community?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 28% of residents surveyed at Armadale Place Care Community said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 42.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 35% in 2024. Another 50% answered “some of the time” and 21% “never”.
Food spending at Armadale Place Care Community in January to March 2026 was $13 per resident per day, 19% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.38 per resident per day, 36% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Armadale Place Care Community, 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”.
28% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How much care and nursing does Armadale Place Care Community provide?
Armadale Place Care Community reported 214 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 12 minutes below its target of 226 minutes. Of those minutes, 39 came from registered nurses, 6 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 45.
Armadale Place Care Community 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 214 to 229.
Who provides that care?
Per resident per day, personal care workers provided 164 minutes, followed by registered nurses (39 minutes) and enrolled nurses (12 minutes). Armadale Place Care Community also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
How does Armadale Place Care Community spend on resident care?
Total spending at Armadale Place Care Community in the 2024–25 financial year was $435.83 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 63.4% of it. Care and nursing spending of $276.52 was 4% above the sector median of $264.85. 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 accommodation and maintenance ($64.42), administration ($29.27), and cleaning and laundry ($25.71) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($167.82) and registered nurses ($60.15).
