Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Bert Newton Retirement Village is 3.63 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Residents consistently describe respectful, caring staff
100% positive on respect and 100% on caring staff, versus 95.9% and 96.0% 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.
How well the home is run is above the survey average
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 89.3% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 217 vs 205 minutes; registered nurses: 39 vs 43 minutes per resident per day.
Enjoying the food is below the survey average
42% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 70.3% across other homes.
Compliance rating trails the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 4.83 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 | 89.32% | 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 | 70.28% | 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 Bert Newton Retirement Village?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 42% of residents surveyed at Bert Newton Retirement Village said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 28.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. Another 50% answered “some of the time” and 8% “never”.
Food spending at Bert Newton Retirement Village in January to March 2026 was $15 per resident per day, 6% below the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.57 per resident per day, 104% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Bert Newton Retirement Village reports that 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”.
42% 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 Bert Newton Retirement Village?
Asked in the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey whether the home is well run, 100% of residents surveyed at Bert Newton Retirement Village answered “always” or “most of the time”, 10.7 percentage points above the average of 89.3% across other homes. Answers were also above the average for other homes when residents were asked whether staff know what they are doing (100% against 89.5%) and whether they have a say in their daily activities (100% against 93.2%).
On 9 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Bert Newton Retirement Village 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 and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 92% of residents surveyed at Bert Newton Retirement Village answered “always” and 8% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 42% answered “always” and 58% “most of the time”.
Do residents have a say in daily life?
On choice and independence at Bert Newton Retirement Village, the share answering “always” or “most of the time” was 92% when asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
How much care and nursing does Bert Newton Retirement Village provide?
In January to March 2026, Bert Newton Retirement Village reported 217 minutes of care per resident per day, 12 minutes above its target of 205 minutes. Registered nurses provided 39 of those minutes, 4 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 43.
In two of the last four quarters, Bert Newton Retirement Village met both its total and registered-nurse targets. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 203 to 239 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Personal care workers provided 156 minutes per resident per day, followed by registered nurses (39 minutes) and enrolled nurses (21 minutes). Bert Newton Retirement Village also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
How does Bert Newton Retirement Village spend on resident care?
In the 2023–24 financial year, Bert Newton Retirement Village spent $568.67 per resident per day on care and nursing, 140% above the sector median of $236.66. Spending across all categories was $1,220.30 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?
Other categories included administration ($188.72), accommodation and maintenance ($145.63), and cleaning and laundry ($69.62) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($227.42) and registered nurses ($218.68).
