How many aged care homes have a 1 Star Rating?

The Government’s Star Ratings for the May 2026 quarter reflect changes to how ratings are calculated.

The Government introduced the Star Ratings system in December 2022 in response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

The aim was to give older Australians and their families clear and easily comparable information about the quality of residential aged care homes, and to drive quality improvements.

Three-and-a-half years later, just one aged care home is rated 1 Star - or ‘significant improvement needed’.

Zero homes have a 2 Star Rating.

The Weekly SOURCE contends it is implausible that only one aged care home would be classified as ‘needs improvement’, the designation applied to 1 and 2 Star homes.

In total, there were 482 homes rated 3 Stars, 1,567 rated 4 Stars, and 127 received the highest rating of 5 Stars.

12 months ago, only four homes were rated 1 Star, so the situation has not changed significantly over time.

Star Ratings calculations changed

The Inspector-General of Aged Care Natalie Siegel-Brown wrote there were “a range of well-documented shortcomings” with Star Ratings in her 2025 Progress Report on the Implementation of the Recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety.

Key weaknesses were how the compliance and staffing ratings were calculated, she said.

On 1 November 2025, the Star Rating system was changed to make it harder for homes with compliance failings or not meeting mandatory staffing targets to achieve 3 Stars or higher. These changes were included for the first time in the May 2026 quarter data.

The data showed only 1 home achieved 1 Star for Compliance (the same home that achieved 1 Star Overall) and zero homes received 2 Stars for Compliance.

140 homes were rated 1 Star for Staffing yet all of those homes achieved 3 Stars or higher.

Overseas results far higher

Australia’s Star Rating system was based on the English and United States’ experience, so we looked to how aged care home ratings are faring in those countries for comparison. Many more homes receive the lowest ratings in those countries.

In the United Kingdom, around 130 care homes are currently rated “Inadequate” by its Care Quality Commission, while a further 2,400 are rated “Requires Improvement”.

The United States’ star quality ratings System is based on the relative performance of aged care homes (or nursing homes as they are called in the United States). The bottom 20% of homes receive a one-star rating, equating to around 3,000 homes.

The fact that only one aged care home in Australia is rated ‘needs improvement’ raises questions about whether the Star Ratings system is accurately reflecting quality. Consumers were promised greater transparency, yet it appears that Star Ratings may not be telling us the full story.

Star Ratings had been promised for home care, but so far there has been no date for implementation.