Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Craigcare Moonee Ponds is 3.6 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Residents consistently describe respectful, caring staff
100% positive on respect and 100% on caring staff, versus 95.4% and 95.4% across other homes.
Residents show greater confidence in staff skills
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 89.1% across other homes.
How well the home is run is above the survey average
95% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 88.1% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 222 vs 222 minutes; registered nurses: 41 vs 45 minutes per resident per day.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
67% positive in 2026, compared with 80% in 2025: 13 percentage points lower.
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: 2026 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 2026 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 | 95.35% | 1080 |
| Feeling safe | 96.24% | 1080 |
| How well the home is run | 88.07% | 1080 |
| Getting needed care | 94.42% | 1080 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.08% | 1080 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 87.15% | 1079 |
| Staff explaining things | 80.26% | 1078 |
| Enjoying the food | 67.34% | 1080 |
| Following up concerns | 84.21% | 1079 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.41% | 1080 |
| Having a say in daily life | 92.70% | 1080 |
What is the food like at Craigcare Moonee Ponds?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, 67% of residents surveyed at Craigcare Moonee Ponds said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 13 percentage points lower than the 80% recorded in 2025. Another 33% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
Food spending at Craigcare Moonee Ponds in January to March 2026 was $14 per resident per day, 13% below the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.34 per resident per day, 21% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Craigcare Moonee Ponds 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”.
67% 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 Moonee Ponds?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, 100% of residents surveyed at Craigcare Moonee Ponds answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff know what they are doing, 10.9 percentage points above the average of 89.1% across other homes. Answers were also above the average for other homes when residents were asked whether the home is well run (95% against 88.1%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (90% against 84.2%).
On 7 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Craigcare Moonee Ponds were at least 3 percentage points above the average for other homes, and on the rest they were within 3 percentage points.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
When residents surveyed at Craigcare Moonee Ponds were asked whether they feel safe, 71% answered “always” and 29% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 48% answered “always” and 52% “most of the time”.
Do residents have a say in daily life?
On choice and independence at Craigcare Moonee Ponds, the share answering “always” or “most of the time” was 95% when asked whether they have a say in their daily activities and 86% when asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
How does Craigcare Moonee Ponds spend on resident care?
Total spending at Craigcare Moonee Ponds in the 2024–25 financial year was $424.24 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 59.6% of it. Care and nursing spending of $252.66 was 5% below 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?
Spending on other categories included accommodation and maintenance ($69.48), administration ($33.97), and cleaning and laundry ($19.86) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($161.06) and registered nurses ($63.25).
How much care and nursing does Craigcare Moonee Ponds provide?
Craigcare Moonee Ponds reported 222 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, matching its target of 222 minutes. Registered nurses provided 41 of those minutes, 4 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 45.
In none of the last four quarters did Craigcare Moonee Ponds meet both its total and registered-nurse targets. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 211 to 224 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 222 minutes, personal care workers provided 176 (79.3%), followed by registered nurses (41 minutes, 18.5%) and enrolled nurses (5 minutes, 2.3%). In the same quarter, Craigcare Moonee Ponds also reported spending on physiotherapists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
