Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Sale Gardens Care Community is 3.56 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings stand out as positive, and three are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Positive standouts
Food enjoyment is above average, with lower reported spending
100% enjoy meals vs 70.2% across other homes; spending is $11 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
100% positive in 2025, compared with 65% in 2024: 35 percentage points higher.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 201 vs 219 minutes; registered nurses: 40 vs 44 minutes per resident per day.
Staffing rating trails the national average
2 out of 5, compared with 3.18 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Quality measures rating trails the national average
2 out of 5, compared with 3.07 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
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 | 85.20% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.20% | 1354 |
How much care and nursing does Sale Gardens Care Community provide?
In January to March 2026, Sale Gardens Care Community reported 201 minutes of care per resident per day, 18 minutes below its target of 219 minutes. Registered nurses provided 40 of those minutes, 4 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
Sale Gardens Care Community met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 197 to 210 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Personal care workers provided 143 of the 201 minutes (71.1%), followed by registered nurses (40 minutes, 19.9%) and enrolled nurses (18 minutes, 9.0%). In the same quarter, Sale Gardens Care Community also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
What is the food like at Sale Gardens Care Community?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 100% of residents surveyed at Sale Gardens Care Community said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 29.8 percentage points above the average of 70.2% across other homes. The share rose from 65% in 2024.
In January to March 2026, Sale Gardens Care Community spent $11 per resident per day on food, 31% below 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 Sale Gardens Care Community, 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”.
100% 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 Sale Gardens Care Community?
When residents surveyed at Sale Gardens Care Community for the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey were asked whether the home is well run, 100% answered “always” or “most of the time”, above the 89.3% average across other homes by 10.7 percentage points. When residents were asked whether staff explain things to them (92% against 81.8%) and whether they get the care they need (100% against 94.5%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
The largest gap below other homes was when residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things: 77% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 85.2%. Altogether, answers on 3 of the 10 questions other than food were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes.
What should you ask about on a visit?
On a visit, you can ask about how the home records and follows up concerns. When residents were asked whether staff follow up when they raise things, 62% answered “always”, 15% “most of the time” and 23% “some of the time”; none answered “never”.
Do residents feel safe?
Asked whether they feel safe, 85% of residents surveyed at Sale Gardens Care Community answered “always” and 15% “most of the time”.
How does Sale Gardens Care Community spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Sale Gardens Care Community spent $448.27 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 63.8% of it. Care and nursing spending of $286.03 was 8% 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 accommodation and maintenance ($59.53), administration ($31.83), and cleaning and laundry ($29.74) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($153.89) and registered nurses ($64.13).
