Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Mercy Place Parkville is 3.3 out of 5, compared with a national average of 3.81. Three findings are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 223 vs 216 minutes; registered nurses: 42 vs 44 minutes per resident per day.
Quality measures rating trails the national average
1 out of 5, compared with 3.07 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
59% positive in 2025, compared with 80% in 2024: 21 percentage points lower.
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 | 89.33% | 1354 |
| Getting needed care | 94.47% | 1354 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.48% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.60% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.83% | 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 |
How much care and nursing does Mercy Place Parkville provide?
Mercy Place Parkville reported 223 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 7 minutes above its target of 216 minutes. Of those minutes, 42 came from registered nurses, 2 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
Mercy Place Parkville met both its total and registered-nurse targets in one of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 202 to 223 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 223 minutes, personal care workers provided 161 (72.2%), followed by registered nurses (42 minutes, 18.8%) and enrolled nurses (20 minutes, 9.0%). In the same quarter, Mercy Place Parkville also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
What do residents say about Mercy Place Parkville?
Asked in the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey whether staff explain things to them, 66% of residents surveyed at Mercy Place Parkville answered “always” or “most of the time”, below the 81.8% average across other homes by 15.8 percentage points. Answers were also below the average for other homes when residents were asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves (78% against 88.6%) and whether staff know what they are doing (81% against 89.5%).
On 9 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Mercy Place Parkville 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 how staff explain changes to care. When residents were asked whether staff explain things to them, 22% answered “always”, 44% “most of the time” and 33% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 70% of residents surveyed at Mercy Place Parkville answered “always” and 22% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 59% answered “always” and 33% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Mercy Place Parkville?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 59% of residents surveyed at Mercy Place Parkville said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 11.3 percentage points below the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 80% in 2024. Another 30% answered “some of the time” and 11% “never”.
In January to March 2026, Mercy Place Parkville spent $16 per resident per day on food, in line with 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?
Mercy Place Parkville 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”.
59% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Mercy Place Parkville spend on resident care?
Spending on care and nursing at Mercy Place Parkville in the 2024–25 financial year was $237.72 per resident per day, 10% below the sector median of $264.85. Total spending was $379.61 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 ($51.85), accommodation and maintenance ($28.51), and cleaning and laundry ($22.07) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($129.84) and registered nurses ($63.92).
