AAL Star Rating

Star ratings are awarded by the council inspector against a scoring matrix that combines the standards the business meets (minimum versus higher) with the council’s risk assessment of the operator (low versus high risk). A higher score means a longer licence and fewer inspections.

A 5-star low-risk operator can hold a licence for up to three years. A 1-star operator typically holds a one-year licence and is re-inspected annually. Star ratings are reset at each inspection — they can go up or down.

The star rating is independent of the operator’s prices and unrelated to customer reviews. It reflects what the inspector saw on the day of inspection against the published welfare criteria.