Top things to consider before choosing a nursing home

Choosing a nursing home is usually done under pressure. A hospital discharge date is looming, a package at home is no longer enough, or a fall has changed everything in a week. The temptation is to take the first bed with a nice foyer. Slow down for an afternoon. The information below is public, most of it is free, and it will change which homes make your shortlist.

01Check the official Star Rating first

Every residential aged care home in Australia has a Star Rating from 1 to 5, published by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing and updated each quarter. It is built from four parts: what residents say in interviews, the home's compliance record, its staffing levels, and clinical quality measures. You can find it on My Aged Care or in our statistics report.

Treat the overall number as a starting point, not the answer. Two homes with the same overall rating can look very different once you open up the four parts, which is what the next sections are about.

02Look at staffing, not just the star

Staffing is the sub-rating that separates homes most. Since October 2024, every home has been required to deliver an average of 215 minutes of care per resident per day, including 44 minutes from a registered nurse, and to have a registered nurse on site around the clock. Since October 2025 a home must meet both targets to score 3 or more stars for Staffing.

The public data shows each home's target minutes and the minutes it actually delivered. A home that is a few minutes under its registered nurse target is a different proposition from one that is thirty minutes under on total care. We saw a 4.9-star Google favourite in Sydney with a 2-star Staffing rating for exactly this reason; families loved it, but it was one minute short on nursing time.

03Understand what it will actually cost

Residential care fees have three or four layers, and the brochure rarely shows them together. Everyone pays the basic daily fee, set at 85% of the single age pension. On top of that, depending on a means assessment, there may be a contribution to daily living costs and a contribution to non-clinical care. Then there is the room itself, covered in the next section.

Get the means assessment done through Services Australia before you visit homes, so you know which fees apply. Ask each home for a written fee estimate that lists every line, including any extra or "higher everyday living" services, which are optional and provider-set.

04Decide how to pay for the room

The accommodation price is the big number. You can pay it as a Refundable Accommodation Deposit, a lump sum that is returned when the resident leaves, as a Daily Accommodation Payment, which is interest on that lump sum, or as a mix of both. The choice affects the family home, the pension and the estate, and it is worth an hour with a financial adviser who knows aged care.

Every home must publish its room prices, so compare the same room type across your shortlist rather than the headline price. A single room with an ensuite in one suburb can be half the price of the same room fifteen minutes away.

05Match the home to the care that is needed, now and later

More than half of permanent residents live with dementia, and needs rarely get simpler over time. A home that is right for someone who is mobile and independent today may not be able to support them in two years. Ask specifically about dementia care, secure areas, palliative care and what happens when needs increase.

• Does the home have a dedicated memory support unit, and is it secure?
• Can a resident stay in the same room as care needs increase, or will they be moved?
• Is palliative care delivered in the home, or are residents transferred to hospital?
• Are physiotherapy, podiatry, dietitians and mental health support available on site?

If language, faith or culture matters, ask how many staff and residents share it. It changes daily life more than any facility feature.

06Read the quality indicators

Homes report clinical quality measures every quarter, and the national figures give you a benchmark for what a home tells you.

The home's own figures for these measures are published in the Star Ratings data. A home well above the national rate on restrictive practices or antipsychotic use deserves a direct question, and a good home will have a clear answer.

07Check the compliance and complaints history

The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission audits every home against the Quality Standards and publishes decisions. A current non-compliance notice or sanction shows up in the Compliance sub-rating: 5 stars means no current action, and anything lower means there is a decision on the record. Nationally, 82.7% of homes hold 5 stars for Compliance, so a lower score is unusual and worth understanding.

You can search the Commission's website for a home's audit reports and any published decisions. Reading the last report takes ten minutes and tells you what the auditors saw, not what the brochure says.

08Take food and daily life seriously

Food is the thing residents complain about most and the thing that shapes every day. Ask whether meals are cooked on site or delivered, whether there is choice, and whether residents can eat when they want. Then ask about everything else that fills a day: outings, activities, gardens, pets, visiting hours, and whether family can join meals.

In resident interviews used for the Star Ratings, food consistently scores lowest of the questions asked. A home that talks about its kitchen without being prompted is usually a home that has thought about it.

09Visit properly, and more than once

A guided tour on a weekday morning shows a home at its best. Go back unannounced in the late afternoon or on a weekend, when staffing is thinner, and sit in a common area for twenty minutes. Notice whether call bells are answered, whether residents are dressed and engaged or parked in front of a television, and whether staff know residents by name.

• Talk to residents and to visiting families, not just to the manager.
• Look at the room you would actually get, not the display room.
• Smell matters. A persistent odour is a staffing and cleaning signal.
• Ask to meet the registered nurse on duty and the person who would be your main contact.

10Read the agreement before you sign

You will be asked to sign a resident agreement and an accommodation agreement. Under the Aged Care Act 2024, which commenced on 1 November 2025, you have a cooling-off period, and the home must give you the agreement before entry. Read the sections on fees, on what happens if the resident's needs change, on leaving and on the refund of the deposit. If anything is unclear, the Older Persons Advocacy Network offers free, independent help.

Finally, remember that a decision made under pressure can be revisited. Respite care lets you try a home for a few weeks before committing, and 63% of people who use residential respite go on to permanent care, often in the same home.

Sources: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Star Ratings quarterly data extract, August 2026; Quarterly Financial Snapshot of the Aged Care Sector, Q3 2025–26; Schedule of fees and charges for residential care, 1 July 2026; Financial Report on the Australian Aged Care Sector 2024–25; AIHW GEN, Residential Aged Care Quality Indicators, January to March 2026; Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission sector performance data; Report on the Operation of the Aged Care Act 1997, 2024–25. Full figures and links are on our Aged Care Statistics Australia page. This guide is general information and not financial or medical advice.