Residential Care Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. A Registered Nurse will meet with you and your supporters, to listen and learn about what is important to you, and the lifestyle choices you enjoy.

We will invite you to participate in a questionnaire entitled, “This is me”, which will assist us to get to know you. The information gathered will create a person-centred plan of care. We will support you in your transition to your new home, introduce you to your new neighbours, and invite you to participate in the community’s activities. We will be keen to learn your food preferences and work with you to order menu items you enjoy eating.

If you have any questions or concerns, please ask the staff. We want you to feel welcome and at home as soon as possible.

There are no set visiting hours. Your visitors are always welcome.

To optimise security, external doors are locked at set times in the evening. Visitors entering the home after hours can use the intercom, a swipe card, or keycode to request entry to the home. Please discuss these options with the Care Coordinator. Our homes have private dining rooms, which you may wish to reserve to host a celebration with family and friends. We respect your right to entertain your guests in private. You are welcome to host a game of bridge or other entertainment with your friends. You may wish to invite friends to join you for a meal, or a catered afternoon tea (conditions and costs may apply for catered afternoon tea).

In exceptional circumstances, such as a public health concern or emergency government direction, visiting may be restricted, impacting on visiting times and opportunities.

We will always notify you if this is put in place. We will always notify you and your family whenever our home is experiencing an outbreak of an infectious disease such as COVID-19 or Influenza. Your family and friends can then decide if they wish to visit the home. If your visitors choose to wear a mask during their visit, staff will support them to do so.

Resthaven prides itself on the excellent quality and variety of our fresh meals, cooked onsite.

We employ trained Chefs in each home, who work collaboratively with residents to design interesting, varied menus, based on feedback from residents about what they enjoy and choose to eat. Our Chefs prepare all meals onsite using fresh produce, adhering to strict food safety regulations. Our menus are reviewed by consultant dietitians to ensure we meet the criteria for a nutritionally balanced menu. We cater for all dietary requirements.

Yes, you can bring a motorised chair, if you are assessed as safe to operate it.

On moving into Resthaven, a member of our Allied Health team and your General Practitioner will undertake an initial assessment to ensure you are able to safely operate the motorised vehicle.

They will assess your ability to operate the vehicle, and assess the risk posed by you, in regard to your safety and the safety of others. This will be assessed annually or at a time when our staff note a decline in your health status.

If you are assessed as able to safely operate the vehicle, you will be welcome to bring your motorised chair, including gophers, scooters and electric wheelchairs. The storage of the gopher and the location of the battery charging station will be reviewed by the home’s management team, ensuring the equipment is tagged, tested and safe to use and store onsite.

As vacancies arise, there may be an opportunity for you to move rooms within the home.

If you wish to be offered a different room from the one you accept on admission, please speak with your Site Manager. Please note your fees and charges for a new room may be different from the one you are in. Your Site Manager will provide you with all the information relating to the fees and charges prior to any room move, while you are considering such a room move.

Resthaven employs qualified Registered and Enrolled Nurses, and Personal Care Assistants (PCA).

Registered Nurses and PCAs are rostered on duty 24 hours a day. Resthaven Residential Services plan and roster staff to meet the mandated care minutes target, linked to the AN-ACC funding model. At times, temporary additional staff are rostered for short-term periods as required. For example, during end of life care and health deterioration, or times of infectious viral outbreaks. All Resthaven Site Managers are experienced Registered Nurses, who provide 24 hour on-call support at each home.

All Resthaven homes are supported by additional onsite staff such as Chefs, housekeeping staff for catering and cleaning, site maintenance and gardening staff, clinical management teams, and administrative support.

Resthaven employs nurse practitioners and senior nurse specialists with expertise in Infection Prevention and Control, Advanced Practice Nurse Palliative Care, Advanced Practice Nurse Mental Health and Dementia, Wound Management and Continence Nurse Advisors. These staff support excellence in clinical assessment, care planning coordination, and care delivery.

Resthaven employs Allied Health professionals, Occupational Therapists, and Physiotherapists, with expertise in preventative falls management, reablement, and maintenance of function and independence.

Wellbeing Coordinators, Coordinating Chaplains, and Social Workers are available at each home, supporting community engagement, offering a variety of popular meaningful activities, and providing emotional and spiritual support. They are respectful of all diverse communities and faiths. Our staff are qualified and trained to deliver care and services within their defined scope of practice. Our staff comply with the Code of Conduct for Aged Care and hold current police checks. Staff undergo ongoing training.

Yes, Resthaven provides timely, person-centred palliative and end-of-life care for individuals in our residential aged care homes.

We respect the individual’s choice in end-of-life decisions, their spiritual/religious and cultural needs, as well as the needs of their family and supporters.

Our well trained nursing staff are available to host care planning meetings to support the individual to share their advance care directives, express their needs, and goals and preferences, regarding end-of-life care. During end-of-life care, our nursing staff ensure each individual’s pain and symptoms are actively managed. Each home is supported by our specialist palliative care nurses to provide end-of-life care in a timely manner. We will work together with you, your family and/or your support persons, and your medical practitioner, to provide individualised end-of life care, at all times being respectful of your wishes, spiritual and cultural beliefs.

Find out about Resthaven’s approach to Palliative Care

Prior to your admission, we strongly encourage all residents to complete an advance care directive.

Learn more about Advance Care Planning

This important document will clearly document your cultural choices with regard to your medical care and treatment preferences. Such planning will make it easier for you and your family, at a time when your health status may decline.

At Resthaven, we respect the rights of older people to make informed choices about their care, including at the end of life.

We are committed to supporting the dignity, wellbeing, and individual preferences of every person in our care. This includes providing compassionate and informed responses to residents and clients who may wish to explore the option of voluntary assisted dying (VAD).

Learn about Resthaven’s approach to Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD)

Resthaven is committed to the safe use of medicines.

Medication administration is the responsibility of qualified nurses and specially trained care staff at all Resthaven homes.

Our staff will work with you to ensure safe and timely administration of your prescribed medications. Our trained staff can undertake assessments of residents who wish to continue to administer their own medications. We discuss the associated risk and ensure the resident is safe and supported in their decision to continue to administer medication to themselves.

Resthaven has a preferred contracted pharmacy provider, and we host an onsite Pharmacist to support the safe use of medicines. Medicines ordered by your doctor are delivered to the home by the pharmacy.

Residents choosing to use this provider for supply of their medicines have direct access to a limited after-hours emergency supply held onsite. You have the right to choose your own pharmacy, however, please be aware that this may involve you or your family having to access the medication stock and delivering it to you.

The fees and charges for residential aged care services and accommodation potentially include:

• A basic daily fee
• An accommodation payment or accommodation contribution
• A means tested care fee.

For further information, please refer to the Financial Information page

The accommodation payment or room price varies from home to home. The basic daily fee and means tested care fee will be determined by the Department of Health following their assessment of your completion and submission of the Permanent Residential Aged Care – Request for a Combined Assets and Income Assessment form (SA457).

In response to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, in December 2022, the Australian Government introduced a 5-Star Rating system for all residential aged care homes in Australia.

All government-funded aged care homes in Australia now have a Star Rating to make it easier to compare the quality of aged care homes and make choices about care.

The Star Ratings are a simple way to rate the quality of care at an aged care home in comparison to others. All aged care homes across Australia receive a rating between 1 and 5 stars to indicate their quality of care across 4 key areas of performance. Outcomes in four subcategories inform an overall Star Rating.

You can find more information about Star Ratings here: Calculating the Star Ratings | My Aged Care

Star ratings indicate the performance of every aged care home, benchmarked with others, using nationally consistent quality measures.

Each home has an overall star rating between 1 and 5 stars. The more stars means the home is delivering higher quality care across four key areas of performance:

Quality Indicators (15%): Quantifies how an aged care service performs on a relative basis against five different quality indicators. The Quality Measures Rating compares a number of health issues that are important indicators of whether a home is providing high quality care, reviewing incidents at the home over the previous quarter in comparison with the national average. This rating is updated every three months.

Service Compliance (30%): Rates performance assessed by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission against the clinical and quality standards that apply to all providers. The rating is updated whenever compliance actions are issued or resolved.

Resident Experience (33%): Indicates scores based on interviews with at least 10% of those living in a residential aged care home, rating their overall experience. The interviews are conducted by an independent assessor in the annual Resident Experience Surveys (formerly known as Consumer Experience Interviews). The rating is updated annually, in line with the survey cycle.

Staffing Minutes (22%): Indicates clinical staffing levels against set targets from the Department of Health and Aged Care. The Staffing Rating is based on an aged care home’s reporting on the total amount of nursing and personal care time from a registered nurse, enrolled nurse and personal care worker, and the care time from a registered nurse only. Providers need to report the amount of care delivered in relation to these two measures every three months. Meeting or exceeding these targets means a provider will have a better Star Rating for Staffing.

Resthaven works to continuously improve the quality of care and services offered. We work together with the government and regulators to implement improvements to ensure high quality, safe and affordable aged care.

Individual room prices reflect a number of key features, including: room size, aspect, outlook, and location.

To view the latest room price or to compare rooms visit the Financial Information page or visit the relevant Resthaven location on www.myagedcare.gov.au

Resthaven will help you to apply in any way we can.

Enquiries can be directed to the Resthaven Residential Accommodation Enquiries Team:

Phone: (08) 8373 9113

Email: accommodation@resthaven.asn.au 

Click here to find out how to apply

There is no set waiting period.

Being offered accommodation at Resthaven depends on:

• Your current care needs and requirement for residential care
• The type of accommodation required to meet your care needs.

There is no penalty or disadvantage resulting from declining a room.

Your application remains under consideration for all vacancies.

All homes have regular tours on at least a monthly basis.

Visits at other times may also be arranged on request if required. This is an opportunity to view the home and discuss any questions you may have.

Click here to check the tour dates

In most circumstances, a decision about acceptance of the room on offer is needed by the following business day.

The Residential Accommodation Enquiries team work with you to ensure you have the required information to consider the accommodation, including relevant fees and charges.

Having accepted a room, it is preferable to move in as soon as possible.

Your family and friends may assist with the move and our staff will assist you to settle into your new home.

The majority of rooms at Resthaven are single rooms with an ensuite bathroom.

However, we also have some rooms suitable for couples to share. These rooms also have an ensuite bathroom.

At Resthaven, we encourage you to personalise your living space with personal items from home.

We will provide a suitable bed and bedside table. The items you wish to bring in to personalise your living space is dependent on the size of the room and suitability of the items.

Electrical items such as a toaster, microwave or iron are not permitted due to fire risk. All other approved electrical items must be checked for electrical safety prior to use in your room and this will be undertaken by our maintenance staff when you move in.

Pets are most welcome to visit you through the day.

However, they need to be suitably restrained (such as on a leash or in a carry basket) for the safety of all people.

Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate pets on a permanent basis. Some of our homes have a shared pet.

Yes, all clothing laundered by Resthaven must have permanent labels in place.

For your convenience, name labels are available for purchase from Reception and our staff will apply them for you.

Basic linen is supplied for you such as sheets, blankets, pillowcases, towels, etc.

This is laundered by an external contractor for Resthaven.

You are welcome to use your own personal bed linen, but the laundering of this will be your responsibility.

Resthaven provides a comprehensive laundry service for your convenience.

We will take care of the laundering of your clothes if you wish.

Our commercial washing machines and tumble dryers work at quite high temperatures, so clothing does need to be suitable for this type of launder.

Clothing such as woollens and delicate items may not be suitable for our laundry service so we suggest you make alternative arrangements for those items.

A private area only available to residents is made available for those who smoke.

To meet Resthaven’s mandatory requirements under the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products (Smoking Ban) Amendment Regulations 2023 (under Section 52(2) of the Tobacco and E-Cigarette Products Act 1997) smoking e-cigarettes and vaping is prohibited in all enclosed workplaces, shared work areas, work vehicles, and outdoor areas on Resthaven entities.

Resthaven aims to be a smoke-free and vape-free organisation, underpinned by our commitment to protect the health and wellbeing of workers, students, volunteers, contractors, clients, residents, and visitors. This includes protection from passive smoking and education and support on the risks and harms of smoking, to encourage staff to quit smoking.

AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making common infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant infections.

Poor medical prescribing practices and patient adherence to treatment also contribute. For example, antibiotics kill bacteria, but they cannot kill viral infections like colds and flu. Often they are incorrectly prescribed for those illnesses, or taken without proper medical oversight. Always take antimicrobial medicines with proper medical oversight – including antibiotics, antiviral, antifungals and antiparasitic.

Resthaven supports and promotes responsible use of antimicrobials at all times encouraging residents to discuss and clarify appropriate use of antimicrobials which include antibiotics, antivirus and antifungals with their health practitioner.

If you have a complaint, in the first instance, we encourage you to raise any personal concerns with nursing staff or with the manager, who is available and committed to dealing with any concerns or complaints you may have.

Resthaven has a complaints resolution procedure that is outlined in our feedback brochure, ‘We’d like to hear from you’, which is available at various locations throughout Resthaven aged care homes and via the link below.

Use these brochures for providing written feedback or comments, or visit our Feedback page and complete the form. Your feedback will be responded to.

Visit our Feedback page   View the ‘We welcome your feedback’ brochure

You have certain rights under Australian aged care legislation.

Resthaven supports and protects your rights. Find out more about the Aged Care Act and the Australian Government Statement of Rights.

Learn about your rights

View the Statement of Aged Care Rights

At Resthaven, we are committed to supporting and protecting the rights of our residents and clients, while recognising their responsibilities as well.

View the Statement of Aged Care Rights

Resthaven encourages feedback and welcomes your suggestions for improvement.

You are welcome to visit our feedback page or send us your comments via email.