Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
One finding is worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 221 vs 228 minutes; registered nurses: 46 vs 45 minutes per resident per day.
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. No survey comparison is made: the survey year in the ratings extract does not match this home’s latest survey. 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.
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 | 2366 |
| Residents’ experience | 3.62 | 2435 |
| Compliance | 4.83 | 2396 |
| Staffing | 3.18 | 2455 |
| Quality measures | 3.07 | 2457 |
How much care and nursing does Mona Vale House provide?
Mona Vale House reported 221 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 7 minutes below its target of 228 minutes. Registered nurses provided 46 of those minutes, 1 minute above the registered-nurse target of 45.
Mona Vale House met both its total and registered-nurse targets in one of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 215 to 232 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 221 minutes, personal care workers provided 175 (79.2%), followed by registered nurses (46 minutes, 20.8%). In the same quarter, Mona Vale House also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
What is the food like at Mona Vale House?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, 92% of residents surveyed at Mona Vale House said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 39 percentage points higher than the 53% recorded in 2025. Another 8% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
Food spending at Mona Vale House in January to March 2026 was $11 per resident per day, 31% below the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.17 per resident per day, 39% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Mona Vale House 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 does Mona Vale House spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Mona Vale House spent $294.30 per resident per day on care and nursing, 11% above the sector median of $264.85. Spending across all categories was $460.35 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 accommodation and maintenance ($66.12), administration ($33.26), and cleaning and laundry ($23.02) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($175.01) and registered nurses ($72.90).
What do residents say about Mona Vale House?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, the highest share of “always” or “most of the time” answers from residents surveyed at Mona Vale House, 100%, came on 10 of the 10 questions other than food, including whether staff treat them with respect.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 92% of residents surveyed at Mona Vale House answered “always” and 8% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 100% answered “always”.
Do residents have a say in daily life?
On choice and independence at Mona Vale House, the share answering “always” or “most of the time” was 100% when asked whether they have a say in their daily activities and 100% when asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves.
