There is "scope for enhancement" of the Department of Health and Aged Care's Star Ratings for aged care, according to management consultants Allen + Clarke, who were awarded the 11-month contract to assess the merit of the initiative launched by Aged Care Minister Anika Wells in December 2022.
The consultants found Star Ratings have incentivised improvements to the quality of aged care however stated "perceived inaccuracies" in the staffing and compliance ratings and "negative media coverage" had eroded trust in the system.
Some consumers and families were unaware of how the Star Ratings were determined, which could "potentially limit" the role Star Ratings could play in the aged care decision-making process, the consultants report found.
Peak body Aged & Community Care Providers Association found "significant limitations" in Star Ratings; Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson said Star Ratings are "not sufficiently meaningful" to help people make informed decisions about aged care services and on 17 January 2024 The Weekly SOURCE reported on a study by Rodney Jilek, Managing Director of dementia care provider Community Home Australia, titled 'The Failure of the Aged Care Star Rating System - A Discussion Paper' which showed non-compliants aged care homes were being a four star ratings.
Allen + Clarke made numerous recommendations, including:
- introducing half star measures to increase granularity,
- introducing food and nutrition metrics,
- increasing the size of the resident sample for consumer experience surveys, and
- redesigning the compliance sub-category to improve visibility of non-compliance with the Aged Care Quality Standards.
The report noted "adjusting" the staffing metric from 1 October 2025 to ensure homes meet both of the mandatory care minute targets to receive a Staffing rating of 3 or more stars will "more accurately reflect sector and consumer expectations".
In February 2024, Allen + Clarke was paid $580,00 to assess the Star Ratings. In May, Ogilvy Australia was awarded a $657,000 contract to develop an advertising campaign to promote the Star Ratings, which was launched in October after the Department granted a $2.6 million contract to Mediabrands for media placements.
The Star Rating system was a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety to create a simple and transparent way to compare the quality of aged care homes.
Read Allen + Clarke's report here.
