Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Catholic Healthcare St James Villa is 3.82 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
Care and registered-nurse targets met in four reported quarters
The latest quarter records 195 minutes against a 189-minute daily care target; RN time is 47 against 39.
Staffing rating exceeds the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 3.18 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Worth a closer look
Food spending and enjoyment both fall below their benchmarks
$14 a day vs a $16 sector median; 58% enjoy meals vs 70.3% across other homes.
How well the home is run is below the survey average
67% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 89.3% across other homes.
Kind and caring staff is below the survey average
75% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 96.0% across other homes.
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 | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.34% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.48% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.48% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.59% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.83% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.27% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.21% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.97% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Catholic Healthcare St James Villa?
When residents surveyed at Catholic Healthcare St James Villa for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether the home is well run, 67% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 22.3 percentage points below the average of 89.3% across other homes. Answers were also below the average for other homes when residents were asked whether staff are kind and caring (75% against 96.0%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (66% against 85.2%).
On 8 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Catholic Healthcare St James Villa were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes, and on the rest they were within 3 percentage points.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about who runs the home day to day and how changes are communicated. When residents were asked whether the home is well run, 67% answered “always”, 25% “some of the time” and 8% “never”; none answered “most of the time”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 75% of residents surveyed at Catholic Healthcare St James Villa answered “always” and 17% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 75% answered “always” and 8% “most of the time”.
How much care and nursing does Catholic Healthcare St James Villa provide?
In January to March 2026, Catholic Healthcare St James Villa reported 195 minutes of care per resident per day, 6 minutes above its target of 189 minutes. Of those minutes, 47 came from registered nurses, 8 minutes above the registered-nurse target of 39.
Catholic Healthcare St James Villa met both its total and registered-nurse targets in each of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 189 to 196 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 195 minutes, personal care workers provided 148 (75.9%), followed by registered nurses (47 minutes, 24.1%). Catholic Healthcare St James Villa also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
What is the food like at Catholic Healthcare St James Villa?
When residents surveyed at Catholic Healthcare St James Villa for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they like the food, 58% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 12.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 61% in 2024. Another 17% answered “some of the time” and 25% “never”.
In January to March 2026, Catholic Healthcare St James Villa spent $14 per resident per day on food, 13% below the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.53 per resident per day, 89% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Catholic Healthcare St James Villa, 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”.
58% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Catholic Healthcare St James Villa spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Catholic Healthcare St James Villa spent $228.63 per resident per day on care and nursing, 14% below the sector median of $264.85. Total spending was $408.20 per resident per day. These amounts are the home’s costs, not the fees a resident pays.
Where does the rest of the spending go?
Other categories included administration ($84.61), accommodation and maintenance ($33.21), and cleaning and laundry ($21.98) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($127.93) and registered nurses ($68.05).
