Elderberry Expert Rating and Opinion
The Elderberry Index for Uniting Wontama Orange is 4.08 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
Quality measures rating exceeds the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 3.06 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Residents’ experience rating exceeds the national average
4 out of 5, compared with 3.62 across other rated homes in the August 2026 extract.
Residents report stronger support for independence
100% answered “Always” or “Most of the time”, compared with 88.6% across other homes.
Worth a closer look
Food enjoyment fell in the latest survey
71% positive in 2025, compared with 81% in 2024: 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: 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 | 3.06 | 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 | 89.47% | 1354 |
| Encouragement to stay independent | 88.58% | 1354 |
| Staff explaining things | 81.81% | 1354 |
| Enjoying the food | 70.26% | 1354 |
| Following up concerns | 85.19% | 1354 |
| Kind and caring staff | 95.96% | 1354 |
| Having a say in daily life | 93.19% | 1354 |
What do residents say about Uniting Wontama Orange?
Asked in the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey whether they are encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves, 100% of residents surveyed at Uniting Wontama Orange answered “always” or “most of the time”, above the 88.6% average across other homes by 11.4 percentage points. When residents were asked whether the home is well run (100% against 89.3%) and whether staff follow up when they raise things (93% against 85.2%), answers were also above the average for other homes.
At Uniting Wontama Orange, answers were at least 3 percentage points above the average for other homes on 6 of the 10 questions other than food, and within 3 percentage points on the rest.
Do residents feel safe and get the care they need?
Asked whether they feel safe, 75% of residents surveyed at Uniting Wontama Orange answered “always” and 21% “most of the time”. When asked whether they get the care they need, 64% answered “always” and 36% “most of the time”.
Do residents have a say in daily life?
On choice and independence at Uniting Wontama Orange, the share answering “always” or “most of the time” was 100% when asked whether they have a say in their daily activities.
How does Uniting Wontama Orange spend on resident care?
Spending on care and nursing at Uniting Wontama Orange in the 2024–25 financial year was $235.31 per resident per day, 11% below the sector median of $264.85. Spending across all categories was $384.18 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?
Other categories included administration ($53.01), accommodation and maintenance ($45.76), and cleaning and laundry ($24.27) per resident per day. Within care and nursing, the largest amounts per resident per day went to personal care workers and assistants in nursing ($161.30) and registered nurses ($48.07).
How much care and nursing does Uniting Wontama Orange provide?
Uniting Wontama Orange reported 200 minutes of care per resident per day in January to March 2026, 2 minutes above its target of 198 minutes. Registered nurses provided 42 of those minutes, 1 minute above the registered-nurse target of 41.
Uniting Wontama Orange met both its total and registered-nurse targets in two of the last four quarters. Minutes of care per resident per day ranged from 195 to 200 across those four quarters.
Who provides that care?
Of the 200 minutes, personal care workers provided 158 (79.0%), followed by registered nurses (42 minutes, 21.0%). Uniting Wontama Orange also reported spending on physiotherapists, podiatrists, speech pathologists, dietitians, and lifestyle and recreation workers in the same quarter.
What is the food like at Uniting Wontama Orange?
In the 2025 Residents’ Experience Survey, 71% of residents surveyed at Uniting Wontama Orange said they like the food “always” or “most of the time”, 10 percentage points lower than the 81% recorded in 2024. Another 29% answered “some of the time”, and none answered “never”.
Food spending at Uniting Wontama Orange 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 $0.01 per resident per day, 96% below the sector median of $0.28.
How are meals prepared?
Uniting Wontama Orange 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”.
71% of surveyed residents
Spending & preparation
Daily spending on food and dietitian services, and how meals are prepared.
