Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Regis Whitfield is 3.93 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and one is 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 95.9% and 96.0% across other homes.
Enjoying the food is above the survey average
96% 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: 230 vs 227 minutes; registered nurses: 40 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. 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 | 96.45% | 1354 |
| How well the home is run | 89.32% | 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 | 70.24% | 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 Regis Whitfield?
When residents surveyed at Regis Whitfield for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether they like the food, 96% answered “always” or “most of the time”, 25.8 percentage points above the average of 70.2% across other homes. The share rose from 93% in 2024. Another 4% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, Regis Whitfield spent $15 per resident per day on food, 6% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.31 per resident per day, 11% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Regis Whitfield, breakfast, lunch and dinner are all cooked fresh. Of all meals, 90% are prepared on site and the rest off site.
Do residents enjoy the food?
Residents who answered “Always” or “Most of the time”.
96% 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 Regis Whitfield?
Asked in the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey whether staff explain things to them, 93% of residents surveyed at Regis Whitfield answered “always” or “most of the time”, above the 81.8% average across other homes by 11.2 percentage points. When residents were asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves (97% against 88.6%) and whether they have a say in their daily activities (100% against 93.2%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
On 9 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Regis Whitfield 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 Regis Whitfield were asked whether they feel safe, 62% answered “always” and 38% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 73% answered “always” and 27% “most of the time”.
How much care and nursing does Regis Whitfield provide?
Regis Whitfield reported 230 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 3 minutes above its target of 227 minutes. Of those minutes, 40 came from registered nurses, 5 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 45.
In none of the last four quarters did Regis Whitfield meet both its total and registered-nurse targets. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 224 to 239 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Per resident per day, personal care workers provided 182 minutes, followed by registered nurses (40 minutes) and enrolled nurses (7 minutes). In the same quarter, Regis Whitfield also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
How does Regis Whitfield spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Regis Whitfield spent $409.36 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 66.2% of it. Care and nursing spending of $271.05 was 2% 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?
Other categories included administration ($61.70), accommodation and maintenance ($25.75), and cleaning and laundry ($23.06) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($167.57) and registered nurses ($59.87).
