Understanding the different types of residential aged care
Key Points
Aged care providers can be run by church or charity groups or private companies, can be large or small, and are located all over the country.
While each aged care provider can (and should) be considered individually, it is interesting to look at how aged care providers compare when you organise them by type.
Government data provides a unique opportunity to group aged care providers, and the results are interesting.
Important Government information to help you compare providers
The Government compiles information on almost 2,600 aged care providers via an Aged Care Star Ratings system.
The Aged Care Star Ratings system is spearheaded by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, with a budget of $330m and a team of over 1400.
The Aged Care Star Ratings System was launched in December 2022 and provides a well resourced and impartial means for families to make an assessment of aged care provider quality.
The data provides an opportunity to compare aged care providers based on size, ownership type and location.
We have compiled this data and organised it on maps to help families easily review quality information when trying to find the right location for an aged care provider.
Not-for-profit providers have the edge on quality overall, and Government run homes overall winners
Almost 60% of aged care providers are defined as “Not for Profit” - that means run by religious charity for community groups, and about 35% are run by private companies. Government run facilities make up the small remaining number.
While both for-profit and not-for-profit providers have a similar amount of providers with 3 and 4 stars, nor-for-profit providers have the edge in that a higher proportion are 4 stars.
Government providers prove to be much higher quality - however Government agencies run less than 10% of aged care homes overall.
While not-for-profit providers have the edge overall, it should be noted a 4 Star provider is a 4 star provider, no matter who owns and runs it.
Smaller more likely to be higher quality
Bigger is not necessarily better. In fact it’s the small providers that are likely to have a higher quality rating.
The definitions of size are as follows - small is 60 or fewer beds, Medium is 60-100, and large is over 100.
It should also be noted that the highest number of 5 Star providers have less than 60 beds.
In our aged care map we include detail on the size of the aged care provider for your information.
Cities don’t have the edge on the regions
As you move out from the cities it may become harder to find aged care providers in a location that is suitable. One thing is clear in the data - location does not have much to do with quality.
In remote communities and small rural towns, more aged care providers are operated by Government, and these providers tend to have higher quality ratings. This is a win for those seeking residential aged care places in these areas - the quality is higher.
The choice for Australians outside of the cities is far more limited, and location is extremely important. Use our map to help find your ideally located aged care provider, and get a quick overview on quality.
Get the right information to make an important choice
Searching for an aged care provider is a complex task, undertaken at a time of high stress.
Make it easier by using our unbiased search tools, and letting us help you get to the bottom of costs.