Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Baptcare The Orchards Community is 3.93 out of 5, against 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 improved in the latest survey
71% positive in 2025, compared with 46% in 2024: 25 percentage points higher.
Staff communication is a relative strength
96% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 81.8% across other homes.
Residents’ experience rating exceeds the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 3.62 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 219 vs 217 minutes; registered nurses: 41 vs 44 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 | 3.07 | 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 | 89.48% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.59% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.80% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.26% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.19% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What is the food like at Baptcare The Orchards Community?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 71% of residents surveyed at Baptcare The Orchards Community said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 25 percentage points higher than the 46% recorded in 2024. Another 30% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, Baptcare The Orchards Community spent $14 per resident per day on food, 13% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.56 per resident per day, 100% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Baptcare The Orchards 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”.
71% 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 Baptcare The Orchards Community?
When residents surveyed at Baptcare The Orchards Community for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether staff explain things to them, 96% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 14.2 percentage points above the average of 81.8% across other homes. When residents were asked whether they have a say in their daily activities (100% against 93.2%) and whether they get the care they need (100% against 94.5%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
On 6 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Baptcare The Orchards Community were at least 3 percentage points above the average for other homes, and on the rest they were within 3 percentage points.
Do residents feel safe?
Asked whether they feel safe, 89% of residents surveyed at Baptcare The Orchards Community answered “always” and 11% “most of the time”.
Do residents have a say in daily life?
For choice and independence, the share of “always” or “most of the time” answers at Baptcare The Orchards Community was 89% when asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
How much care and nursing does Baptcare The Orchards Community provide?
Baptcare The Orchards Community reported 219 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 2 minutes above its target of 217 minutes. Of those minutes, 41 came from registered nurses, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
In one of the last four quarters, Baptcare The Orchards Community met both its total and registered-nurse targets. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 212 to 219 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Per resident per day, personal care workers provided 162 minutes, followed by registered nurses (41 minutes) and enrolled nurses (17 minutes). In the same quarter, Baptcare The Orchards Community also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
How does Baptcare The Orchards Community spend on resident care?
Total spending at Baptcare The Orchards Community in the 2024–25 financial year was $441.01 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 60.8% of it. Care and nursing spending of $268.08 was 1% above 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 administration ($72.81), accommodation and maintenance ($38.69), and cleaning and laundry ($22.16) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($156.17) and registered nurses ($64.78).
