Resi care scores 6.3 for efficiency

Mirus Australia noted that the care margin is carrying most of the burden, with provision of care earning $22.87 per resident per day before tax, while hotel services and accommodation lost $4.59 per resident.

The benchmarking service also flagged that while the average home is above its care minute targets – 107.6 per cent of registered nurse minutes and 102.3 per cent of total care minutes delivered, on average – the average staffing rating is barely three stars.

Of the homes still short on their care minutes, 73 per cent are within five minutes of both targets.

Mirus Australia head of data and insights Tyler Fisher, who led the analysis, told The Ageing Agenda that one point worth testing against providers’ own figures is the breakdown of financial sustainability.

“We assess care and accommodation as separate business units because they perform differently. Across the sector, care generated about $62.68 per resident per day, while accommodation and everyday living recorded a loss of $12.59. In effect, the care margin is supporting the building. Most providers are likely to see a similar pattern in their accounts, which may help identify areas requiring attention,” he told TAA.

Mr Fisher noted that the results indicate providers should be focusing on accommodation and everyday living.

“Further care efficiency will not fix a business unit that loses $12.59 per resident day. The levers are accommodation pricing, the Higher Everyday Living Fee, supported resident mix, and the cost side of catering, utilities and maintenance. Nobody should be waiting for a funding rescue. The hotelling supplement is frozen at $22.15 pending the everyday living review, and advice on that is not expected until December 2027,” he told TAA.

Mirus Australia chief executive officer Robert Covino said the results show where the next gains will come from.

“Compliance has become the floor almost every provider stands on. It held through a new Act and strengthened standards, and that is a real achievement for the sector,”he said.

“But the differences between providers now sit above that floor, in how efficiently each one turns its funding into care, quality and a sustainable business. Efficiency in our method means delivering the required care outcomes sustainably, not at least cost.”

Mirus Australia builds the index on data providers lodge with the government already, such as the quarterly financial reports, Star Ratings and care minutes.

Mr Fisher said every score in this second edition was calculated using the published methodology.

“We have shown our workings for every pillar, so any provider can reproduce the result and test their own position against it,” Mr Fisher said. “Most homes are already meeting their care minute targets, so the next gain isn’t more staff. It’s knowing what each minute of care costs to deliver, home by home, and closing the gap between the most and least efficient.”