If you are researching aged care homes, you may have questions about what life is like in a particular aged care home. You may want to know how existing residents feel about the level and quality of care, the living environment, and how providers support their residents’ quality of life.
The results of the Residents’ Experience Survey are used to calculate the Star Ratings Residents' Experience rating. Star Ratings help you compare the quality, safety and services of aged care homes. The Residents’ Experience rating lets you know how aged care residents feel about the care and services they receive in their aged care homes.
What is the Residents' Experience Survey?
Where can I see the results?
Why is the Residents' Experience Survey important?
Who is involved in the survey process?
The Residents’ Experience rating
Where can I find more information?
What is the Residents' Experience Survey?
The Residents’ Experience Survey is conducted annually, by an independent third-party survey team who talk to residents in government-funded aged care homes across Australia about the care they receive.
Responses to the following 12 questions from the survey inform the Residents’ Experience rating available on the My Aged Care website.
- Do staff treat you with respect?
- Do you feel safe here?
- Is this place well run?
- Do you get the care you need?
- Do staff know what they are doing?
- Are you encouraged to do as much as possible for yourself?
- Do staff explain things to you?
- Do you like the food here?
- Do staff follow up when you raise things with them?
- Are staff kind and caring?
- Do you have a say in your daily activities?
- How likely are you to recommend this residential aged care home to someone?
Where can I see the results?
You can view the survey results for aged care homes using the Find a provider tool on this website. Select the profile of an aged care home you are interested in. Then click the Residents’ Experience tab.
If the home you are interested in has no survey data, it may be because:
- the survey has not been completed because the aged care home is new or operating under new ownership,
- it is a very small home and the results could not be published anonymously; in this case the results are still used to generate the Residents’ Experience rating,
- they have been unable to participate due to a serious and unavoidable event such as a health outbreak or weather incident
- the home has chosen to not participate in the survey.
Read more about why data isn’t displayed.
Why is the Residents' Experience survey important?
The best way to understand what an aged care home is like, is to ask the people who live there. The Residents' Experience Survey provides independent insights into resident views and experiences of their aged care home. This information can help you understand what to ask about when you visit, to see if it's a good match for you.
The survey seeks to:
- ensure that resident voices are heard,
- help older people and their families make informed and confident decisions about aged care services, and
- give aged care homes useful data to identify areas for improvement and further increase the quality of care they provide.
Who is involved in the survey process?
Every year, at least 20 per cent of older people living in an aged care home are randomly selected to be surveyed by an independent third-party survey team.
If a resident participates in the survey, they will be invited to speak in private. Before the survey begins, the survey team will:
- explain the process and answer any questions
- ask the resident for their consent to participate in the survey.
Aged care homes provide care for a range of residents with diverse needs, including residents with dementia. Where the resident is unable to provide their own feedback, a family member or representative might be approached to provide feedback on their behalf.
Approximately 43,000 randomly selected residents will be surveyed annually across Australia. All feedback is anonymous and confidential.
The Residents’ Experience 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. This can help you research and compare homes based on quality of care, safety and services.
Residents’ Experience is one of the 4 key areas of performance that make up the Overall Star Rating. The Residents’ Experience rating is based on an aged care home’s results in the annual Residents’ Experience Survey and contributes to 33 per cent of a home’s Overall Star Rating.
The Residents’ Experience rating is out of 5 stars and provides a quick way for you to compare residents’ perceptions across aged care homes. Aged care homes with 5 stars received the most positive feedback across all the questions.
How the rating is calculated
The 12 survey questions that inform the Residents’ Experience rating ask for responses on a scale ranging from ’Always’ to ’Never’.
Points are allocated for each question based on the response that each resident provides. The table below displays the points that each response receives.
| Response | Points |
|---|---|
| Never | 1 |
| Some of the time | 2 |
| Most of the time | 3 |
| Always | 4 |
The points are multiplied by the percentage of residents who gave that particular response. These are calculated for each question. The total points for all 12 questions will determine a home’s Residents’ Experience rating.
The table below displays the different rating levels, what they mean and the number of homes nationwide that currently have each rating.
| Residents' Experience rating | What this means | How many homes in Australia currently have this rating? | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Excellent | The aged care home received between 45 and 48 points on the Residents' Experience Survey. | 4% |
 | Good | The aged care home received between 41 and less than 45 points on the Residents' Experience Survey. | 41% |
 | Acceptable | The aged care home received between 36 and less than 41 points on the Residents' Experience Survey. | 51% |
 | Improvement needed | The aged care home received between 30 and less than 36 points on the Residents' Experience Survey. | 3% |
 | Significant improvement needed | The aged care home received between 12 and less than 30 points on the Residents' Experience Survey. | 0% |
* Percentages may not equal 100% due to rounding.
Some providers may not display a Residents’ Experience rating. You can read more about why a rating isn’t shown.
Feedback, complaints, and improvements
Along with the annual Residents’ Experience Survey, aged care homes also separately report on positive feedback, complaints, and suggestions for improvement made by their residents. This information is published to help older people, their families, and carers choose an aged care home that is right for them. The information can also support conversations with providers about their approach to feedback and complaints and how they use this input.
Aged care homes should regularly seek input and feedback to help inform continuous improvements for individual residents and the whole organisation.
Each aged care home is required to report on:
- the 3 most common kinds of positive feedback received about each home during the reporting period
- the 3 most common kinds of complaints received about each home during the reporting period
- the 3 main kinds of improvements made in relation to the quality of the service.
This information is published in the Residents’ Experience tab of the aged care home’s profile page on the Find a provider tool.
Where can I find more information?
You can learn more about the surveys on the Residents' Experience Survey website.
You can also watch Residents' Experience Survey: A guide for older people in residential aged care video that explains the purpose of the survey.
Residents' Experience Survey: A guide for older people in residential aged care
This video explains the purpose of the Residents’ Experience Survey, how it works and what to expect if you are asked to participate. The Residents’ Experience Survey is a chance for aged care residents to share their thoughts on the care they receive at their home. Find out more at https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/quality
I'm here to talk to you about the Residents’ Experience survey.
This survey is part of the Australian Government's response to a recommendation from the Royal Commission into Aged Care, Quality and Safety.
The idea is to regularly share with the community what residents like and dislike about living in aged care services.
This survey is your chance to share your thoughts on the care you receive at your home.
We've been conducting this survey every year since 2022.
An independent team funded by the Department of Health and Aged Care will visit all aged care homes in Australia to ask 14 important questions.
If you choose to participate, we want to assure you that your responses won't be shared with anyone.
Q. How can you be involved?
A. On the day of the survey, residents are randomly selected. This way everyone has an equal chance to take part in the Resident Experience Survey, which also helps protect your privacy.
If a survey team member approaches you, they will: Introduce themselves.
Explain the purpose of the survey and ask for your consent to participate.
The survey team can organise interpreters and other support to help you participate.
The survey includes 14 questions and usually takes about 10 to 30 minutes to complete.
Here are some example questions.
Q. Do you feel safe here?
Q. Do you like the food here?
Q. Do you get the care that you need?
A. Yes, I do. Always.
Q. Could you tell me why do you participate in the Resident Experience Survey?
A. Well, I can tell them what I think, and I think it's a good thing.
Q. And what would you say is the best thing about this service?
A. The management is very approachable.
A. The staff are always visible and on hand.
After the surveyor visits your home, your answers are combined with other residents’ responses from your aged care home and your provider will receive a report.
No one can identify you by reading the report.
If you would like more information about the survey, please speak with the staff at your home and ask them about the Residents Experience booklet.
The booklet is available in English as well as eighteen other languages.
The friendly surveyors look forward to meeting you when they come to your home.