Dollars to Care tool highlights new information for consumers on My Aged Care

Updates to My Aged Care have resulted in drastic changes to the information publicly available to aged care consumers, increasing transparency of how much providers spend on food each day, staff wages and overall surplus or deficit margins.

Key points

• In early February, the Government revealed additional financial and operational data would be displayed on My Aged Care as part of the site’s latest update
• The Minister for Aged Care Anika Wells said the information builds on existing  initiatives to increase transparency and help older people make informed choices
• Provider pages now include insights into food and meals, nurse and care worker wages, the facility’s income and recent surplus/deficit

The data, which is publicly available for the first time through a newly minted “Dollars to Care” tool, has been published in response to recommendations made by the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which highlighted the need for better public access to information about providers’ finances and operations.

“We recognise the majority of aged care providers are working to deliver high quality and safe care but we have to shine a light on those who aren’t and take action,” Minister Wells explained. 

“The publication of aged care providers’ finances and operations delivers on the Government’s election commitment to increase transparency and accountability around what aged care providers are spending money on.”

Aged care consumers and their families can now easily see the results of resident experience surveys and how they relate to key questions such as “Do you like the food here?” and “Do staff know what they are doing?” It even shows income sources, the type of staff members employed at homes and how much is spent on the likes of cleaning and administration.

Here is a breakdown of each key section that’s now visible under the Government’s latest move to increase aged care spending and care quality transparency.

Food and meals

The most prominent addition to My Aged Care comes under the Food and meals section for each provider’s “Overview” page. Here, information is provided as it “may assist” consumers in understanding more about food offered by the provider. There is even a suggestion for potential consumers to visit homes at mealtime and ask if they can taste a meal.

Information regarding food preparation is also provided, highlighting how much is produced on-site or off-site in the previous quarter. This includes whether breakfast, lunch or dinner was prepared fresh or not.

Staffing 

Care minute totals have been mandated since October 1, 2023, and consumers can now easily see whether a provider is meeting their case-mix adjusted quota, or not. This means providers are no longer being compared to the sector-wide average of 200 care minutes per resident, per day, but rather their specific minimum target that is dependent on resident classifications.

There are specific breakdowns of care minutes provided by Registered Nurses (RN), Enrolled Nurses (EN) and Personal Care Workers (PCW) and Assistants in Nursing (AIN). 

Generic descriptions of the types of care staff in a residential care home are also provided so consumers can see what specialists are made available to suit their specific care needs. 

Meanwhile, as seen under Food and meals, Residents’ Experience Survey results are available for two questions: “Do you get the care you need?” and “Do staff know what they are doing?”, while there is also a facility’s expenditure on care and nursing per resident per day. 

Finance and operations

While aged care providers have benefited from sector-wide financial reports, consumers can now easily view simple breakdowns of how much providers are spending on care and services.

It’s a major change for the sector as potential and existing consumers, plus their families, can see if each individual facility is above or below the sector average for total daily expenditure and five key areas.

Consumers can also see a simple outline of where providers source their income and how much of the budget was in surplus or deficit last financial year.

All published information is available to providers via the Government Provider Management System (GPMS) and it is sourced from self-reported data.