Often as we age, daily care routines like showering, dressing, shaving, and medication or wound management can become difficult to do on our own. If you are looking at aged care homes because you need more support, it’s important to know that a home will provide you with enough care from registered nurses, enrolled nurses, and personal care staff.
On this page, we explain how measures put in place by the Australian Government can help you check the amount of nursing and personal care each government-funded aged care home provides.
How do I know if a home provides enough nursing and personal care staff for residents?
The Staffing Rating
How is nursing and personal care time measured?
How is the expected amount of care for each resident determined?
How are the targets calculated?
Will the amount of care be increased?
Where can I find more information?
How do I know if a home provides enough nursing and personal care staff for residents?
From December 2022, you can see more information about the level of nursing and personal care provided in aged care homes. Each aged care home will report on the overall amount of care delivered to residents, as well as the amount of care time each resident receives from a registered nurse. Providers have targets set for the minutes of care they need to provide in each of the two categories. An assessment of resident needs in each care home determines these care targets.
You can see how an aged care home is performing on their Find a provider profile, under Staffing. Their performance in relation to the care targets informs the Staffing Rating, which is part of the Australian Government’s Star Ratings for aged care homes. You can read more about the Staffing Rating below.
The Staffing Rating
In December 2022, the Australian Government introduced Star Ratings for aged care homes. Star Ratings provide simple information about the quality of care an aged care home delivers and how they compare to others.
Staffing is one of the 4 key areas of performance that make up the overall Star Rating. The Staffing Rating is based on the delivery of nursing and personal care in an aged care home compared to their care targets for:
- the total amount of nursing and personal care time a resident receives from a registered nurse, enrolled nurse and personal care worker, and
- the care time a resident receives from a registered nurse only.
Providers that meet or exceed their care minutes targets will have a better Staffing Rating.
The tables below display the different rating levels and what they mean.
| Staffing Rating | |
|---|---|
 | Excellent |
 | Good |
 | Acceptable |
 | Improvement needed |
 | Significant improvement needed |
| Overall Care Minutes Target | |||||
| Less than 90% of target met | Between 90% and less than 100% of target met | Between 100 and less than 105% of target met | Between 105% and less than 115% of target met | Equal to or more than 115% of target met | |
| Registered Nurse Care Minutes Target | |||||
| Less than 75% of target met |  | | | | |
| Between 75% and less than 100% of target met | | | | | |
| Between 100% and less than 115% of target met | | | | | |
| Between 115% and less than 125% of target met | | | | | |
| Equal to or more than 125% of target met | | | | | |
The Staffing Rating is updated every 3 months, based on the care time delivered in the previous quarter. For example, data published in December covers the reporting period from July to September.
Some providers may not display a Staffing Rating. You can read more about why a rating isn’t shown.
How is nursing and personal care time measured?
From October 2022, all aged care homes are required to record and report the amount of care that was provided to their residents by a:
- registered nurse
- enrolled nurse, or
- personal care worker.
This includes time spent on help with daily tasks and other care activities such as updating care plans and arranging medical appointments. This is known as care minutes.
This information is reported to the Department of Health and Aged Care on a quarterly basis.
How is the expected amount of care for each resident determined?
Under the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) care funding model, each aged care resident will be assigned to one of 13 AN-ACC classes (for permanent care) or 3 respite classes (for respite care), based on an independent assessment of the resident’s care needs.
Each AN-ACC class has a specific care minute target that reflects the different care needs of residents in that class. This ensures the alignment of care minute targets with funding.
How are the targets calculated?
The target for each home is based on the average of the needs of the residents in that home. This information comes from the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC). This means homes with mainly higher needs residents will have a higher average care minute target than a home with mainly lower needs residents.
Across all aged care homes, the nationwide average currently works out at:
- 200 minutes of personal and nursing care (from a registered nurse, enrolled nurse, or personal care worker) and
- 40 minutes of nursing care (from a registered nurse) per resident.
Showing the targets as an average amount of care per resident makes it easier to understand the amount of care you might receive. If you can, look for aged care homes with a care target that aligns with the level of care you need.
Will the amount of care be increased?
The government will work with aged care homes to increase the amount of care available over time, in line with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.
Increases in care will happen as follows:
- From July 2023, all aged care homes must have a registered nurse available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- From 1 October 2023, all aged care homes will have to meet their individual care requirements based on a sector average target of 200 minutes of care per resident per day, including an average of 40 minutes of care from a registered nurse.
- From 1 October 2024, the sector average requirements will increase to 215 minutes of care per resident per day including an average of 44 minutes of care from a registered nurse.
Where can I find more information?
You can read more about care minutes on the Department of Health and Aged care website.