Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Estia Health Keysborough is 4.08 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and two are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Food enjoyment is above average, with lower reported spending
92% enjoy meals vs 70.2% across other homes; spending is $12 vs a $16 sector median.
Residents consistently describe respectful, caring staff
100% positive on respect and 100% on caring staff, versus 95.9% and 96.0% across other homes.
Food enjoyment improved in the latest survey
92% positive in 2025, compared with 39% in 2024: 53 percentage points higher.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 230 vs 222 minutes; registered nurses: 40 vs 44 minutes per resident per day.
Fewer residents consistently feel safe
92% 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 | 3.06 | 2456 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.86% | 1354 |
| Feeling safe | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.32% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.47% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.47% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.59% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.80% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.24% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.18% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Estia Health Keysborough?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 100% of residents surveyed at Estia Health Keysborough answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff explain things to them, above the 81.8% average across other homes by 18.2 percentage points. When residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things (100% against 85.2%) and whether the home is well run (100% against 89.3%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
The largest gap below other homes was when residents were asked whether they feel safe: 92% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 96.5%.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about what the home does when a resident says they feel unsafe. When residents were asked whether they feel safe, 77% answered “always”, 15% “most of the time” and 8% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents get the care they need?
Asked whether they get the care they need, 69% of residents surveyed at Estia Health Keysborough answered “always” and 31% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Estia Health Keysborough?
When residents surveyed at Estia Health Keysborough for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they like the food, 92% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 21.8 percentage points above the average of 70.2% across other homes. The share rose from 39% in 2024. Another 8% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, Estia Health Keysborough spent $12 per resident per day on food, 25% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.23 per resident per day, 18% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Estia Health Keysborough 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”.
92% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How much care and nursing does Estia Health Keysborough provide?
In January to March 2026, Estia Health Keysborough reported 230 minutes of care per resident per day, 8 minutes above its target of 222 minutes. Of those minutes, 40 came from registered nurses, 4 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
Estia Health Keysborough met both its total and registered-nurse targets in two of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 225 to 241 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Per resident per day, personal care workers provided 185 minutes, followed by registered nurses (40 minutes) and enrolled nurses (6 minutes). In the same quarter, Estia Health Keysborough also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
How does Estia Health Keysborough spend on resident care?
Total spending at Estia Health Keysborough in the 2024–25 financial year was $426.65 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 64.9% of it. Care and nursing spending of $277.02 was 5% above 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 ($50.73), accommodation and maintenance ($36.59), and cleaning and laundry ($27.18) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($156.91) and registered nurses ($63.62).
