Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Bolton Clarke Holly is 3.6 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Worth a closer look
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
48% positive in 2025, compared with 60% in 2024: 12 percentage points lower.
Enjoying the food is below the survey average
48% 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 | 94.48% | 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 | 95.97% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.20% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Bolton Clarke Holly?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 74% of residents surveyed at Bolton Clarke Holly answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff know what they are doing, 15.5 percentage points below the average of 89.5% across other homes. Answers were also below the average for other homes when residents were asked whether staff explain things to them (67% against 81.8%) and whether they get the care they need (81% against 94.5%).
At Bolton Clarke Holly, answers were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes on 9 of the 10 questions other than food, and within 3 percentage points on the rest.
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, 26% answered “always”, 48% “most of the time” and 26% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe?
Asked whether they feel safe, 59% of residents surveyed at Bolton Clarke Holly answered “always” and 33% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Bolton Clarke Holly?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 48% of residents surveyed at Bolton Clarke Holly said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 22.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 60% in 2024. Another 41% answered “some of the time” and 11% “never”.
Food spending at Bolton Clarke Holly in January to March 2026 was $17 per resident per day, 6% above the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.29 per resident per day, 4% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Bolton Clarke Holly reports that breakfast, lunch and dinner are all prepared by the cook-chill method. Of all meals, 43% are prepared on site and the rest off site.
Do residents enjoy the food?
Residents who answered “Always” or “Most of the time”.
48% 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 Bolton Clarke Holly provide?
Bolton Clarke Holly reported 222 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 6 minutes above its target of 216 minutes. Of those minutes, 48 came from registered nurses, 4 minutes above the registered-nurse target of 44.
Bolton Clarke Holly 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 198 to 225.
Who provides that care?
Of the 222 minutes, personal care workers provided 174 (78.4%), followed by registered nurses (48 minutes, 21.6%). In the same quarter, Bolton Clarke Holly also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
How does Bolton Clarke Holly spend on resident care?
Total spending at Bolton Clarke Holly in the 2024–25 financial year was $413.23 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 60.4% of it. Care and nursing spending of $249.75 was 6% below 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?
Other categories included accommodation and maintenance ($71.27), administration ($33.21), and cleaning and laundry ($28.14) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($160.16) and registered nurses ($62.34).
