Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Resthaven Mount Gambier is 3.45 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: 213 vs 210 minutes; registered nurses: 40 vs 43 minutes per resident per day.
How well the home is run is below the survey average
64% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 88.1% across other homes.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
53% positive in 2026, compared with 63% in 2025: 10 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: 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 | 95.36% | 1080 |
| Feeling safe | 96.25% | 1080 |
| How well the home is run | 88.10% | 1080 |
| Getting needed care | 94.43% | 1080 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.09% | 1080 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 87.16% | 1079 |
| Staff explaining things | 80.27% | 1078 |
| Enjoying the food | 67.35% | 1080 |
| Following up concerns | 84.23% | 1079 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.43% | 1080 |
| Having a say in daily life | 92.71% | 1080 |
What do residents say about Resthaven Mount Gambier?
When residents surveyed at Resthaven Mount Gambier for the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether the home is well run, 64% answered “always” or “most of the time”, below the 88.1% average across other homes by 24.1 percentage points. When residents were asked whether staff explain things to them (68% against 80.3%) and whether staff are kind and caring (84% against 95.4%), answers were also below the average for other homes.
At Resthaven Mount Gambier, answers were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes on all 10 questions other than food.
What should you ask about on a visit?
A visit is a chance to ask about who runs the home day to day and how changes are communicated. Of residents asked whether the home is well run, 32% answered “always”, 32% “most of the time”, 26% “some of the time” and 11% “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
When residents surveyed at Resthaven Mount Gambier were asked whether they feel safe, 68% answered “always” and 21% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 53% answered “always” and 37% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Resthaven Mount Gambier?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, 53% of residents surveyed at Resthaven Mount Gambier said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 14.4 percentage points below the average of 67.4% across other homes. The share fell from 63% in 2025. Another 32% answered “some of the time” and 16% “never”.
Food spending at Resthaven Mount Gambier in January to March 2026 was $16 per resident per day, in line with the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.39 per resident per day, 39% above the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
According to Resthaven Mount Gambier, 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”.
53% 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 Resthaven Mount Gambier provide?
Resthaven Mount Gambier reported 213 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 3 minutes above its target of 210 minutes. Of those minutes, 40 came from registered nurses, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 43.
Resthaven Mount Gambier met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 212 to 217 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Personal care workers provided 155 of the 213 minutes (72.8%), followed by registered nurses (40 minutes, 18.8%) and enrolled nurses (18 minutes, 8.5%). Resthaven Mount Gambier also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
How does Resthaven Mount Gambier spend on resident care?
Total spending at Resthaven Mount Gambier in the 2024–25 financial year was $449.35 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 59.9% of it. Care and nursing spending of $269.07 was 2% above 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?
Other categories included administration ($60.87), accommodation and maintenance ($37.98), and cleaning and laundry ($32.43) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($142.37) and registered nurses ($74.69).
