How to compare aged care homes

Comparing aged care homes means scoring a short list, ideally two or three, against the same set of criteria, instead of judging each one on the impression it happened to leave on the day you walked in. The criteria that genuinely separate homes are location and access for visitors, staffing levels and continuity, Star Ratings and what sits behind them, room type and what it includes, food and daily life, specialist care such as dementia and palliative care, and the full cost structure. Apply those seven to every home on your list and the answer usually becomes obvious.

This guide is the comparison framework. Its companion, questions to ask when choosing an aged care home, is the list of things to ask and look for while you are standing in the building. Use this one to decide what you are comparing; use that one on the visit itself.

First, cut the list to two or three

Most families start with too many options and compare none of them properly. Filter hard and early on the non-negotiables: the geographic area, whether the home can meet the specific care needs involved, and whether it has, or realistically will have, a place available in your timeframe. Vacancy is a real filter; a perfect home with a two-year waitlist is not a live option when someone is being discharged from hospital next week.

Two or three is the right number: enough to see real differences, few enough that you can visit each properly, which is where the comparison actually happens.

Criterion 1: location and access for visitors

This is the criterion families under-weight and later regret. How often someone gets visited is one of the strongest influences on how well they settle and how quickly problems get noticed, and it is driven by how easy the trip is.

For each home, compare door-to-door travel time from the people most likely to visit, whether that trip works without a car, parking, and whether a short weekday or evening visit is realistic or becomes a half-day expedition. Then compare the connections that matter to the person moving in: their GP, their usual hospital, their community, their place of worship, their club. A home twenty minutes closer to family is usually worth more than a nicer foyer.

Criterion 2: staffing levels and continuity

Staffing is the best single predictor of care quality and where homes differ most. Homes are required to have a registered nurse on site and to report the care time residents receive, and those figures feed the published ratings, so you can compare them rather than guess.

Ask each home the same four questions and write the answers side by side: what care time each resident receives on average and how that compares to the target; what rostering looks like across day, evening and overnight; the proportion of permanent staff versus agency; and whether the same carers are consistently allocated to the same residents. Continuity matters enormously for anyone with memory loss, because being cared for by a stranger every shift is distressing in a way no statistic captures.

Criterion 3: Star Ratings, and what they do and do not tell you

Every government-funded residential aged care home carries a Star Rating published by the regulator, with an overall rating plus sub-ratings covering residents' experience, compliance, staffing and quality measures. It is the only genuinely comparable, official quality data you have, and it should be the first thing you look at. Our guide to aged care star ratings explains how each component is built.

What ratings do well: they let you compare like with like, they surface compliance history, and the residents' experience component comes from residents rather than management.

What they do not tell you: they are historical, so they lag a change of management or a staffing crisis in either direction. They average across a whole home, so a strong number can hide a weak wing, and the reverse is also true. And they say nothing about whether this home suits this person, or about culture, which is the thing families describe first when a placement works.

Treat the rating as the starting hypothesis and the visit as the test of it. A four-star home that feels wrong and a three-star home that has clearly turned a corner are both worth taking seriously.

Criterion 4: room type and what is included

Homes price rooms individually, so "the cost of the home" is really the cost of a specific room. Compare the actual room on offer, not the display room.

Look at whether it is single or shared, whether it has a private ensuite, the outlook, how far it is from the nurses' station and dining room, and how much of it the person can make their own with their own furniture. Then establish what the room price includes and what is billed separately, commonly laundry, internet, pay television, hairdressing and some personal items. Finally, ask whether the person can stay in this room as care needs increase, or would be moved to another part of the home.

Criterion 5: food, activities and social life

This is the texture of daily life, and where a clinically adequate home can still be a poor place to live.

On food, compare whether meals are cooked on site or delivered in, how much choice there is, how dietary, cultural and texture-modified needs are handled, and whether mealtimes look like a social occasion or an assembly line. Ask for a current menu, and eat there if you can.

On daily life, compare the activities calendar as it actually ran last week rather than as the brochure shows it, whether there are outings and transport, how easy it is to get outside, and whether the program suits this particular person. A packed calendar of group bingo is not a win for someone who has never played bingo. Our guide to staying connected covers why outside connections matter after the move, not just before it.

Criterion 6: specialist care

Match the home to the conditions involved, now and in the likely future.

For dementia, compare whether the home has a dedicated memory support unit or integrates residents throughout, how staff are trained, how they respond to distress and changed behaviour, and their approach to restrictive practices. The right answer involves minimising them, with clear consent, rather than routine use.

For end-of-life care, ask directly whether the home can care for someone through to the end or whether transfer to hospital is the default, and what palliative support it draws on. Families are often surprised by this one.

Also compare access to allied health, wound and continence management, and any verified specialisation the home holds for a cultural, language, veteran or LGBTI community. Specialisations can be verified and published, which makes this comparable rather than a matter of assurances.

Criterion 7: the cost structure

Compare the whole structure, not one headline number. Costs generally come in four parts: an accommodation payment for the room, payable as a lump sum, a daily payment, or a combination; a basic daily fee towards living costs; a means-tested contribution towards care that depends on income and assets; and any extra or additional service fees.

The thresholds, caps and the government-set interest rate that converts a lump sum into a daily payment all change, so get current figures from My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 or Services Australia rather than from any published guide, and read our guide to aged care fees for how the parts fit together. Get each home's numbers in writing so you are comparing quotes, not recollections.

Then compare three things homes handle differently: what is charged while a resident is in hospital for an extended period, exactly what the extra service fee buys, and how and when an accommodation deposit is refunded. For any significant decision, particularly a lump sum and what to do with the family home, get independent financial advice and use Services Australia's free Financial Information Service.

A simple way to run the comparison

Put the homes across the top of one page and the seven criteria down the side. Then:

1. Mark your top three criteria before you visit anything. For most families it is location, staffing and specialist care; for some it is cost. Deciding in advance stops the newest impression from dominating.
2. Ask every home identical questions and record the answers in the same words. Differences only show up when the questions match.
3. Visit each home twice if you can, once on the arranged tour and once unannounced, ideally near a mealtime.
4. Score each criterion out of five, weight your top three double, and total it. The number is not the decision; it shows you where your instinct and the evidence disagree, which is the conversation worth having.
5. Include the person moving in. Their reaction to a place is data, often the best you have.

To compare verified homes near you, with Star Ratings where published, browse the residential aged care directory on Our Mate.

Frequently asked questions

What are the key factors to compare when choosing an aged care home?

Seven factors do most of the work: location and how easy it is for family to visit, staffing levels and whether the same carers are consistently allocated, the Star Rating and its sub-ratings, the specific room and what its price includes, food and daily life, specialist care such as dementia and palliative care, and the full cost structure. Compare all seven across every home rather than judging each on general impression.

How many aged care homes should we compare?

Two or three. That is enough to see genuine differences and few enough to visit each properly, ideally more than once. Filter your longer list first on location, whether the home can meet the care needs involved, and whether a place will realistically be available in your timeframe.

Are aged care Star Ratings enough to compare homes?

No, but they are the best starting point. Ratings are official, comparable, include residents' own reported experience and surface compliance history. They also lag real change, average across an entire home, and say nothing about whether a home suits a particular person. Use the rating to build a shortlist, then test it on a visit.

How do I compare the cost of two aged care homes?

Compare the structure, not one number. Get each home's accommodation price for the specific room offered, the basic daily fee, the expected means-tested contribution and any extra service fees, all in writing. Also compare what is charged during a long hospital stay and how a deposit is refunded. Check current thresholds with My Aged Care on 1800 200 422 and get independent financial advice on any lump sum.

What matters more, the facilities or the staff?

Staff, consistently. Fittings and foyers are the easiest thing for a home to improve and the easiest for families to over-weight on a tour. Staffing levels, staff retention and whether the same carers know the resident are far stronger predictors of day-to-day quality of life, particularly for someone with dementia.