Understanding financial information in Find a provider

You might look at how much an aged care provider spends on food and catering and compare that to other providers’ spending. Expenditure on food could point to its quality, but it doesn’t always tell you if the food is tasty or nutritious.

If a provider spends more or less than others, you might want to find out more by looking at other information in the Find a provider tool. For example, some aged care homes include sample menus in their profiles. You could also look at data in the residents’ experience surveys, which can tell you if the residents like the food. You also have the option to visit the aged care home and ask to see or try a meal.

You might also look at how much a provider spends on care and compare that to other providers' spending. It is important to note that the amount spent will not necessarily tell you about the quality of care delivered by a provider. How much is spent on care can be influenced by many factors, including the location of the provider (whether they are remote or not) and the type of residents they provide care for (in some aged care homes, the residents may have much higher care needs), among others.

For aged care home providers, financial information can be compared to a ‘sector average’. This helps you understand how a provider’s spending or income compares to other providers in the residential aged care sector. On My Aged Care, the term 'sector average’ is used to refer to the 'sector median', which is a way of showing a typical value.

The median is the middle value among all providers when their values are ordered by size. As an example, choose 5 different providers to compare. If you sort their spending on care from lowest to highest, the sector median is the third number on the list — the provider with the third highest expenditure. There would then be two providers on the list spending lower than the median, and two providers spending higher.

What do ‘above average’ and ‘below average’ mean?

An aged care home provider’s finances may be above, below, or equal to the sector average (or median). However, many factors play a role in how much a provider spends or earns. It's best to get more information before making any decisions.

For instance, an aged care home provider who spends less than average on care and nursing might have residents with relatively lower care needs. It doesn’t necessarily mean the quality of care is lower than average.

Other common reasons for providers to spend more or less than the average, include:

• geographical location: a provider located in a rural or remote area may face higher costs than a city-based provider to deliver the same quality of care and services.
• provider size: a large provider that delivers many aged care services may be able to deliver services at lower cost than a small provider, while maintaining quality.

The percentage number (%) next to each category of income and expenditure tells you by how much a provider is above or below the sector average.

Knowing if a provider’s budget was in surplus or deficit for the year gives you some insight into their financial position.

If a provider’s budget is in surplus, their income was greater than their expenses for the last reporting period.

If a provider’s budget is in deficit, their expenses were greater than their income.

Many providers report deficits or losses for some or all of their services. This doesn’t necessarily mean they have financial issues. For instance, a provider’s budget may be in deficit while they renovate or invest in new facilities, but then return to a surplus once completed.

Not-for-profit providers making a surplus

You might not expect a not-for-profit provider to make a budget surplus, but it does happen.  However, any surplus must be allocated towards the delivery of care. These providers can also retain a surplus as profit as long as there is a genuine reason to do so, and that reason is clearly linked to their organisation’s purpose.

For example, a not-for-profit provider may retain their surplus:

• to fund a new project
• to fund a new building or infrastructure, or
• to help them accumulate a financial reserve so they remain sustainable.

For aged care home providers, you’ll see income and expenditure figures on the provider’s finance page presented in ‘per resident per day’ terms. This allows for a like-for-like comparison of the finances of other providers, regardless of how many residents they serve.

Financial information will still differ for each provider as it is based on many factors. For example, one provider may spend more per resident per day on allied health. This could be because they have more residents requiring these services.

In the Find a provider tool, you can see the hourly minimum, average, and maximum wage rates a provider pays to their direct care workers. This includes Registered Nurses, Enrolled Nurses, and Personal Care/Home Care Workers.

Providers paying higher wages may be better able to attract in-demand care and nursing staff. However, there are other factors to consider. For instance, providers usually need to pay higher wages to attract staff in remote areas compared to urban areas.