Early insights: 14 day Star Ratings preview period is now open

Aged care providers have less than two weeks to preview the latest update to Star Ratings in the Government Provider Management System (GPMS) before those changes go public via My Aged Care. 

Key points

• The aged care Star Ratings were introduced to help older people, their families and carers compare the quality of aged care homes through an Overall Star Rating and four sub-categories
• The February 2024 update includes new Staffing and Quality Measures ratings data for Quarter 1 2023-24 (July-September 2023), Residents’ Experience ratings from the annual survey completed in September – October 2023 and contemporary Compliance ratings
• Aged care providers have a two-week period to preview their updated Star Ratings on the Government Provider Management System (GPMS)

The Aged Care Star Ratings system was introduced to provide increased transparency into the quality of aged care services, empowering individuals to make informed decisions about their care. 

However, there have been hiccups along the way, with outdated information used when they were publicly launched in 2022, while expert analysis has revealed issues of non-compliance are not always reflected in the published Ratings. 

That’s why the Provider Preview is so critical; this is the first opportunity for approved providers to view and understand how their financial and operational data will be displayed on the My Aged Care Website. Specific examples include wages, annual financial information and service usage.

Where agreed to, My Aged Care will also show information about the name and role of those who hold an executive position, diversity of an organisation’s governing body (as a whole entity) and responses to open-ended questions from the Provider Operations Collection Form. 

While it’s not a mandatory requirement, providers have a valuable two-week window to log in to GPMS and use the information to prepare for any questions or concerns raised by residents, prospective residents and their families. 

Additionally, any quality issues or errors can be pinpointed and rectified ahead of publication. If errors are present, providers are required to:

• Check self-reported data and use established processes if your QFR/ ACFR/ ACMPS/ Provider Operations data is incorrect and needs to be changed at the source
• Report any IT or technical errors to the My Aged Care service provider and assessor helpline on 1800 836 799
• Email the Provider Operations Data mailbox for specific financial or operational data preview or publication queries, updates or corrections

If you update your information at the source it will be updated within 24 hours of being resubmitted, while late data submissions after the publication preview date will flow directly to publication on My Aged Care.

With the Provider Preview period beginning on February 7, the updated Star Ratings are expected to go live on My Aged Care from February 21. Information to support provider previews is available on the GPMS and the Star Ratings webpages, including the GPMS User Guide: Star Ratings. The My Aged Care Helpline is also available on 1800 836 799.