Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Tweed River Care Community is 3.16 out of 5, against a national average of 3.81. Three findings are worth a closer look.
Things we noticed
Worth a closer look
Food spending and enjoyment both fall below their benchmarks
$13 a day vs a $16 sector median; 47% enjoy meals vs 67.4% across other homes.
Reported care time falls short of a staffing target
Total care: 209 vs 216 minutes; registered nurses: 39 vs 44 minutes per resident per day.
Staffing rating trails the national average
1 out of 5, compared with 3.19 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: 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 | 3.19 | 2454 |
| Quality measures | 3.07 | 2456 |
| Respectful treatment | 95.36% | 1080 |
| Feeling safe | 96.25% | 1080 |
| How well the home is run | 88.09% | 1080 |
| Getting needed care | 94.43% | 1080 |
| Confidence in staff skills | 89.09% | 1080 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 87.15% | 1079 |
| Staff explaining things | 80.27% | 1078 |
| Enjoying the food | 67.37% | 1080 |
| Following up concerns | 84.22% | 1079 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.42% | 1080 |
| Having a say in daily life | 92.71% | 1080 |
What do residents say about Tweed River Care Community?
Asked in the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey whether the home is well run, 62% of residents surveyed at Tweed River Care Community answered “always” or “most of the time”, below the 88.1% average across other homes by 26.1 percentage points. Answers were also below the average for other homes when residents were asked whether staff explain things to them (66% against 80.3%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (71% against 84.2%).
On 8 of the 10 questions other than food, answers at Tweed River Care Community were at least 3 percentage points below the average for other homes, and on the rest they were within 3 percentage points.
What should you ask about on a visit?
On a visit, you can ask about who runs the home day to day and how changes are communicated. Of residents asked whether the home is well run, 38% answered “always”, 24% “most of the time”, 29% “some of the time” and 10% “never”.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 71% of residents surveyed at Tweed River Care Community answered “always” and 24% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 48% answered “always” and 38% “most of the time”.
How much care and nursing does Tweed River Care Community provide?
In January to March 2026, Tweed River Care Community reported 209 minutes of care per resident per day, 7 minutes below its target of 216 minutes. Of those minutes, 39 came from registered nurses, 5 minutes below the registered-nurse target of 44.
Tweed River Care Community 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 209 to 214.
Who provides that care?
Of the 209 minutes, personal care workers provided 159 (76.1%), followed by registered nurses (39 minutes, 18.7%) and enrolled nurses (11 minutes, 5.3%). Tweed River Care Community also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
What is the food like at Tweed River Care Community?
In the 2026 Residents’ Experience Survey, 47% of residents surveyed at Tweed River Care Community said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 20.4 percentage points below the average of 67.4% across other homes. The share fell from 60% in 2025. Another 52% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
In January to March 2026, Tweed River Care Community spent $13 per resident per day on food, 19% below the sector median of $16. In the same quarter, spending on dietitians was $0.15 per resident per day, 46% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Tweed River Care Community 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”.
47% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
Sources and Explanation
How does Tweed River Care Community spend on resident care?
Spending on care and nursing at Tweed River Care Community in the 2024–25 financial year was $228.99 per resident per day, 14% below the sector median of $264.85. Spending across all categories was $464.97 per resident per day. These figures are the home’s costs, not the fees a resident pays.
Where does the rest of the spending go?
Spending on other categories included accommodation and maintenance ($110.59), administration ($53.74), and cleaning and laundry ($27.17) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($123.65) and registered nurses ($52.33).
