HOMES UNDER PRESSURE
62%
of surveyed homes operated at a loss.
Up from 49% a year earlier. Nine months to March 2026.
StewartBrown · March 2026 ↗Australian residential aged care · Workforce & rostering
Margins are under pressure.
Every roster decision counts.
AVERAGE OPERATING RESULT
−$9.16
per bed, per day.
Down from a $0.91 surplus a year earlier. Mature-home results, excluding outliers; nine months to March 2026.
StewartBrown · March 2026 ↗COSTS VERSUS REVENUE
11.7%
growth in direct care costs, versus 6.6% revenue growth.
Per bed day, before overhead allocation for costs. Nine months to March 2026 versus the prior year.
StewartBrown · March 2026 ↗Survey benchmarks, not a recoverable leakage rate. Whole-home losses include accommodation and everyday living. Wage and care-delivery changes also affect costs.
What we are working toward
Better care. A stronger workforce.
A sustainable bottom line.
Three outcomes, tested together in the trial — for residents, for staff and for the balance sheet. Care requirements stay central to every option.
Better care delivery
The right coverage and skills, with care requirements central to every option.
A stronger workforce
More workable rosters and less reliance on last-minute overtime.
Financial sustainability
Less validated avoidable spend. More value available for care.
Why rostering sits at the centre
One roster.
Six connected decisions.
Filling a shift means balancing care, people, employment rules and money at the same time. A change in one can change the cost and feasibility of all the others.
Who needs care, and when?
Resident needs and required care time shape coverage and the skills needed on each shift.
Who can actually work?
Availability, leave, fatigue and contracted hours determine whether internal cover is feasible.
What does the shift trigger?
Classifications, overtime, penalties and engagement conditions affect the full cost.
What happens when plans change?
A sick call can mean an extension, a different worker or agency cover, each with different trade-offs.
What was worked and paid?
Rosters, timesheets, payroll and agency invoices need to be reconciled to explain actual spend.
What value can be retained?
Compare feasible alternatives against the same care requirements, then track validated savings.
24% estimated annual staff turnover
Residential nursing and personal-care staff, year to March 2023. Job departures, not necessarily sector exits. AIHW workforce survey ↗
The gap we are solving
These decisions sit across separate systems.
Rosters, timesheets, payroll, agency invoices and availability each hold part of the answer. No single one shows which cost was avoidable, what a feasible alternative looked like, or how to stop the pattern repeating. Teams need all three, together, every roster period.
- Which cost was avoidable
- What a feasible, fully costed alternative looked like
- How to stop the pattern repeating
Care Connection · Partner trial
Find the cash leakage.
Make the next roster better.
Help test the cash-leakage diagnostic and AI-assisted rostering tool with your team or an aged-care provider client. Three steps, one agreed roster period, real or synthetic data.
- Step 1 · Find
Find and explain.
Use an agreed service or roster period and real or synthetic data to review potential avoidable spend with supporting records.
- Step 2 · Compare
Compare and stress-test.
Evaluate feasible roster options against agreed care and employment rules. Test disruption scenarios such as sick calls.
- Step 3 · Validate
Validate and act.
Workforce and finance teams review findings, agree actions and track recurrence. Your feedback helps shape the launch.
Worked example
Agency cover is booked. Was a qualified internal worker available at a lower fully costed rate? Only evidence of a feasible alternative supports a potential saving.
Partner trial · No cost to join
Register your interest.
A short scoping conversation comes next. Together we agree data handling, scope, success measures and timing.
Thank you. Let's find the opportunity.
Your interest has been registered. We will be in touch about the next steps.
The trial tests these aims; savings are not guaranteed. Recovery means reducing avoidable future spend, not reclaiming valid wages or invoices. People approve decisions. No live roster is changed automatically.