Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Snug Village is 3.93 out of 5, compared with 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
80% enjoy meals vs 70.3% across other homes; spending is $14 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.
Following up concerns is above the survey average
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 85.2% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 221 vs 211 minutes; registered nurses: 40 vs 43 minutes per resident per day.
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
80% positive in 2025, compared with 93% in 2024: 13 percentage points lower.
Fewer residents say staff explain things consistently
74% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 81.8% across other homes.
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 | 88.58% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.82% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.25% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.18% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
How much care and nursing does Snug Village provide?
Snug Village reported 221 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 10 minutes above its target of 211 minutes. Registered nurses provided 40 of those minutes, 3 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 43.
Snug Village met both its total and registered-nurse targets in none of the last four quarters. Across those four quarters, minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 214 to 221.
Who provides that care?
Of the 221 minutes, personal care workers provided 169 (76.5%), followed by registered nurses (40 minutes, 18.1%) and enrolled nurses (12 minutes, 5.4%). In the same quarter, Snug Village also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers.
What do residents say about Snug Village?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 100% of residents surveyed at Snug Village answered “always” or “most of the time” when asked whether staff follow up when they raise things, above the 85.2% average across other homes by 14.8 percentage points. When residents were asked whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves (100% against 88.6%) and whether the home is well run (100% against 89.3%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
The widest gap below other homes came when residents were asked whether staff explain things to them: 74% answered “always” or “most of the time”, against an average of 81.8%. In all, answers on 2 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?
A visit is a chance to ask about how staff explain changes to care. When residents were asked whether staff explain things to them, 47% answered “always”, 27% “most of the time”, 20% “some of the time” and 7% “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
When residents surveyed at Snug Village were asked whether they feel safe, 73% answered “always” and 20% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 60% answered “always” and 33% “most of the time”.
What is the food like at Snug Village?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 80% of residents surveyed at Snug Village said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 9.7 percentage points above the average of 70.3% across other homes. The share fell from 93% in 2024. Another 20% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
Food spending at Snug Village in January to March 2026 was $14 per resident per day, 13% below the sector median of $16. Spending on dietitians in the same quarter was $0.27 per resident per day, 4% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Snug Village 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”.
80% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Snug Village spend on resident care?
In the 2024–25 financial year, Snug Village spent $403.94 per resident per day, and care and nursing made up 70.8% of it. Care and nursing spending of $285.81 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?
Spending on other categories included administration ($32.43), cleaning and laundry ($23.59), and accommodation and maintenance ($19.11) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($150.35) and registered nurses ($70.26).
