Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Craigcare Berwick is 3.78 out of 5, compared with a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Food enjoyment improved in the latest survey
86% positive in 2025, compared with 53% in 2024: 33 percentage points higher.
Enjoying the food is above the survey average
86% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 70.2% 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.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 226 vs 222 minutes; registered nurses: 41 vs 44 minutes per resident per day.
Quality measures rating trails the national average
2 out of 5, compared with 3.07 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Fewer residents consistently feel safe
86% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 96.5% 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 | 95.86% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.46% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.33% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.47% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.48% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.59% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.81% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.25% | 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 Craigcare Berwick?
When residents surveyed at Craigcare Berwick for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they like the food, 86% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 15.8 percentage points above the average of 70.2% across other homes. The share rose from 53% in 2024. Another 10% answered “some of the time” and 5% “never”.
In January to March 2026, Craigcare Berwick spent $15 per resident per day on food, 6% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.36 per resident per day, 29% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Craigcare Berwick 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”.
86% 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 Craigcare Berwick?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 86% of residents surveyed at Craigcare Berwick answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether they feel safe, below the 96.5% average across other homes by 10.5 percentage points. Answers were also below the average for other homes when residents were asked whether staff are kind and caring (91% against 96.0%) and whether the home is well run (86% against 89.3%).
The largest gap above other homes was when residents were asked whether they have a say in their daily activities: 100% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 93.2%. Altogether, answers on 3 of the 10 questions other than food were at least 3 percentage points above the average for other homes.
What should you ask about on a visit?
On a visit, you can ask about what the home does when a resident says they feel unsafe. Of residents asked whether they feel safe, 67% answered “always”, 19% “most of the time” and 14% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents get the care they need?
Asked whether they get the care they need, 86% of residents surveyed at Craigcare Berwick answered “always” and 10% “most of the time”.
How much care and nursing does Craigcare Berwick provide?
In January to March 2026, Craigcare Berwick reported 226 minutes of care per resident per day, 4 minutes above its target of 222 minutes. Of those minutes, 41 came from registered nurses, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
Craigcare Berwick met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 213 to 226 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 226 minutes, personal care workers provided 170 (75.2%), followed by registered nurses (41 minutes, 18.1%) and enrolled nurses (15 minutes, 6.6%). Craigcare Berwick also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
How does Craigcare Berwick spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Craigcare Berwick spent $418.92 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 63.0% of it. Care and nursing spending of $264.06 was in line with the sector median of $264.85. These amounts 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 ($56.25), administration ($31.64), and cleaning and laundry ($27.35) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($142.83) and registered nurses ($66.48).
