Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Cardinia Community Aged Care is 3.45 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
Quality measures rating exceeds the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 3.06 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
More residents consistently feel safe
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 96.4% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Food spending and enjoyment both fall below their benchmarks
$12 a day vs a $16 sector median; 61% enjoy meals vs 70.3% across other homes.
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 215 vs 214 minutes; registered nurses: 41 vs 44 minutes per resident per day.
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 | 3.06 | 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 | 89.49% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.60% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.82% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.27% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.20% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.20% | 1354 |
What is the food like at Cardinia Community Aged Care?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 61% of residents surveyed at Cardinia Community Aged Care said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 9.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. Another 28% answered “some of the time” and 11% “never”.
Food spending at Cardinia Community Aged Care in January to March 2026 was $12 per resident per day, 25% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.22 per resident per day, 21% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Cardinia Community Aged Care, 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”.
61% 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 Cardinia Community Aged Care?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 78% of residents surveyed at Cardinia Community Aged Care answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff know what they are doing, below the 89.5% average across other homes by 11.5 percentage points. When residents were asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves (80% against 88.6%) and whether they have a say in their daily activities (86% against 93.2%), answers were also below the average for other homes.
The widest gap above other homes came when residents were asked whether they feel safe: 100% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 96.4%.
What should you ask about on a visit?
On a visit, you can ask about the training staff receive. When residents were asked whether staff know what they are doing, 36% answered “always”, 42% “most of the time”, 19% “some of the time” and 3% “never”.
Do residents get the care they need?
Asked whether they get the care they need, 67% of residents surveyed at Cardinia Community Aged Care answered “always” and 28% “most of the time”.
How much care and nursing does Cardinia Community Aged Care provide?
In January to March 2026, Cardinia Community Aged Care reported 215 minutes of care per resident per day, 1 minute above its target of 214 minutes. Registered nurses provided 41 of those minutes, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
Cardinia Community Aged Care 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 202 to 215.
Who provides that care?
Of the 215 minutes, personal care workers provided 152 (70.7%), followed by registered nurses (41 minutes, 19.1%) and enrolled nurses (22 minutes, 10.2%). In the same quarter, Cardinia Community Aged Care also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
