Key points
- Aged care star ratings are an overall rating out of five for residential aged care homes, published on My Aged Care's Find a provider tool and updated at least quarterly.
- The overall aged care star rating combines four components with unequal weightings: residents' experience 33%, compliance 30%, staffing 22% and quality measures 15%.
- For homes not yet graded against the strengthened Quality Standards, a finding of non compliance does not automatically lower an aged care star rating, because the compliance component moves on formal regulatory action. Once a home is graded, a major non-conformance gives a one star compliance rating.
- Analysis of the Non-Compliance Register by Adjunct Professor Rodney Jilek, under the rating method used before November 2025, found that 50.6% of homes on the register held a four star rating and 34.8% held three stars, with fewer than 4% rated one or two stars.
- From 1 November 2025, the compliance component of aged care star ratings combines regulatory decisions with graded assessment against the strengthened Quality Standards and takes the lower of the two, phased in over up to three years as each home is assessed. From 1 October 2025, a home must meet both its total care minutes and registered nurse minutes targets to reach three stars or above on staffing.
- Each aged care home has an overall star rating and a separate rating for each of the four components, so the component ratings can be checked separately rather than relying on the overall number.
What a star rating is
An overall rating out of five for a residential aged care home, published through My Aged Care's Find a provider tool and updated at least quarterly.
It is not one inspection score. It is four separate measures combined, and they are not weighted equally.
Star Ratings cover aged care homes only.
How the overall rating is built
What makes up the overall star rating
That weighting is the key to reading a rating properly. Two homes can arrive at the same overall number having performed very differently.
What each part measures
Residents' experience, 33%. An annual face to face survey of a sample of residents, covering safety, how staff treat them, food, independence and belonging. It is the heaviest single component. The survey covers at least 20% of residents at each home.
Compliance, 30%. From 1 November 2025 this combines regulatory decisions with graded assessment against the strengthened Quality Standards, and takes the lower of the two. It is being phased in over up to three years as each home is graded at registration renewal.
Staffing, 22%. Actual care minutes against the home's casemix adjusted targets. From 1 October 2025 a home must meet both its total care minutes target and its registered nurse minutes target to reach three stars or above. Up to 10% of registered nurse minutes can come from enrolled nurses.
Quality measures, 15%. Five indicators: pressure injuries, restrictive practices, unplanned weight loss, falls and major injury, and medication management. This data is self reported by providers.
What the number does not tell you
For homes that have not yet been graded against the strengthened Quality Standards, a finding of non compliance does not automatically drop the rating. Their compliance component moves on formal regulatory action, which means there can be a lag between problems being identified and the rating reflecting them. Once a home has been graded, a major non-conformance gives it a one star compliance rating and a minor non-conformance two stars. Until every home has been graded, check which method applies to the home you are looking at.
Analysis of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission's Non-Compliance Register by Adjunct Professor Rodney Jilek, under the rating method used before November 2025, found that 50.6% of the homes on that register held a four star rating and 34.8% held three stars, with fewer than 4% rated one or two stars. Those findings were reported by Hello Leaders and the underlying concern was covered by the ABC in August 2024.
How to use a rating properly
Use it to build a shortlist, not to make the decision.
Open the four component ratings rather than reading the overall number. Look at compliance specifically. Then visit, more than once, at different times of day.
| Instead of | Check |
|---|---|
| The overall star number | The four component ratings separately |
| Compliance at a glance | The current rating and any regulatory action on record |
| Staffing in general | Care minutes performance, and staffing on the shift that matters to you |
| Quality measures as fact | Trends over time, remembering the data is provider reported |
| A rating as a verdict | Whether the home can meet this person's specific needs |
Our questions to ask a provider page covers what to ask on a tour.
What about home care providers?
What you can use instead: the service and pricing information on My Aged Care's Find a provider tool, the provider's registration status, and the complaints pathway if something goes wrong.
Frequently asked
Where do I find aged care star ratings?
What is a good star rating?
Can a four star home still have problems?
How often are ratings updated?
Are there star ratings for home care?
Who decides the ratings?
Did star ratings change under the new Aged Care Act?
Sources
This guide is general information, written from the published sources below. It is not a substitute for advice about your own circumstances.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026
How Star Ratings worksDepartment of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026
About Star RatingsDepartment of Health, Disability and Ageing, 2026
Changes to Star RatingsMy Aged Care, 2026
How to choose a provider
