Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Bupa Cairns is 3.23 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
Food spending and enjoyment both fall below their benchmarks
$13 a day vs a $16 sector median; 46% enjoy meals vs 70.3% across other homes.
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 222 vs 223 minutes; registered nurses: 42 vs 45 minutes per resident per day.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
46% positive in 2025, compared with 60% in 2024: 14 percentage points lower.
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 | 95.87% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.46% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.34% | 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 | 85.21% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.97% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.20% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Bupa Cairns?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 67% of residents surveyed at Bupa Cairns answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff follow up when they raise things, below the 85.2% average across other homes by 18.2 percentage points. When residents were asked whether staff know what they are doing (77% against 89.5%) and whether the home is well run (77% against 89.3%), answers were also below the average for other homes.
At Bupa Cairns, answers were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes on all 10 questions other than food.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about how the home records and follows up concerns. When residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things, 27% answered “always”, 40% “most of the time”, 30% “some of the time” and 3% “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 53% of residents surveyed at Bupa Cairns answered “always” and 33% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 33% answered “always” and 50% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Bupa Cairns?
When residents surveyed at Bupa Cairns for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they like the food, 46% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 24.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 60% in 2024. Another 40% answered “some of the time” and 13% “never”.
Food spending at Bupa Cairns 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 $0.24 per resident per day, 14% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Bupa Cairns, 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”.
46% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Bupa Cairns spend on resident care?
Total spending at Bupa Cairns in the 2024–25 financial year was $418.22 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 57.3% of it. Care and nursing spending of $239.78 was 9% 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?
Spending on other categories included administration ($71.96), accommodation and maintenance ($49.49), and cleaning and laundry ($27.01) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($150.65) and registered nurses ($53.66).
How much care and nursing does Bupa Cairns provide?
In January to March 2026, Bupa Cairns reported 222 minutes of care per resident per day, 1 minute below its target of 223 minutes. Registered nurses provided 42 of those minutes, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 45.
In none of the last four quarters did Bupa Cairns meet both its total and registered-nurse targets. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 198 to 222 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 222 minutes, personal care workers provided 174 (78.4%), followed by registered nurses (42 minutes, 18.9%) and enrolled nurses (6 minutes, 2.7%). In the same quarter, Bupa Cairns also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
