Star Ratings: significant enhancements needed
Evaluation highlights improvements required in the system created to improve transparency and support informed choice.

Star Ratings can continue to be honed and improved to ensure it reaches its key objectives going forward, says a report released by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Allan + Clarke Consulting, who published the report this month note that despite the progress made by the Star Ratings, “there remains significant scope for enhancement, and it will take time for the initiative to mature and fully achieve its intended objectives.”
The report states: “This evaluation has found a range of areas in which Star Ratings can continue to be refined and enhanced to ensure that it achieves its key objectives going forward.”

The star rating system was established in 2022 to help older people, and their families make informed choices when selecting an aged care facility and elevate transparency in the sector.
Under the star rating system designed by government:
- 1 star means significant improvement needed
- 2 stars show improvement needed
- 3 stars equate to an acceptable standard of care
- 4 stars represent a good quality of care
- 5 stars showcase an excellent quality of care.
Four weighted sub-categories dictate the star rating at aged care services:
- resident’s experience 33 per cent
- staffing 22 per cent
- quality measures 15 per cent
- compliance 30 per cent.
“The department welcomes the evaluation, including positive findings on transparency and quality improvements, and recommendations of how Star Ratings may be improved,” a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Aged Care told Australian Ageing Agenda.
The report dated 19 November 2024, but released on 10 January 2025, highlights
ways the Star Ratings system can be enhanced to meet the needs of consumers and providers of residential aged care more effectively.
Recommended enhancements:
- promote awareness and accessibility
- introduce more granular ratings
- improve food and nutrition metrics
- incorporate input from family members and resident representatives
- improve information clarity and website usability
- enhance the existing “Steps to enter an aged care home” guide
- introduce cultural safety measures
- increase the sample size and broadening the scope of Residents’ Experience Survey
- strengthen compliance reporting
- include incidents and complaints data
- include holistic measures of social, emotional and mental wellbeing
- improve communication of quality measures, including restrictive practices
- expand staffing metrics
- raise care minute thresholds.
“With nearly two years having passed since its establishment, the Australian Government has an important opportunity to implement measures to increase consumer awareness of, and confidence in, Star Ratings, and to ensure that Star Ratings are accessible and relevant to the breadth of consumers of residential aged care,” says the report.
“This evaluation has also identified refinements that could be made to the administration and calculation of Star Ratings to ensure that the initiative is fit for purpose, trusted and impactful.”
The department told AAA the independent evaluation of Star Ratings conducted between February and December 2024 investigated the impact and whether the initiative was achieving its objectives of improving choice and transparency for older people and increasing care quality.
The department observed the evaluation found:
- improved performance across the sector related to the quality-of-care delivery since the introduction of Star Ratings
- improvement in the timeliness and accuracy of reporting by providers in relation to their regulatory obligations
- reduced number and duration of active formal regulatory notices issued by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission since the establishment of Star Ratings
- opportunities to improve public awareness, including the accessibility and comprehensiveness of published information
- opportunities to address concerns with the methodology used to calculate the compliance and staffing ratings.
The department told AAA that Star Ratings will transition to a re-designed compliance rating with the commencement of the new Aged Care Act, in line with changes to the regulatory model, and introduction of graded assessments undertaken by the quality commission against the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.
“This will enable performance of aged care homes against the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards to be incorporated into the compliance rating,” the spokesperson said.
Comment on the story below. Follow Australian Ageing Agenda on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter and subscribe to our premium content or AAA magazine for the complete aged care picture.