The Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (SA) established the Adult Safeguarding Unit, which commenced operation on 1 October 2019.

The Adult Safeguarding Unit operates within the South Australian Office for Ageing Well. The Unit is responsible for receiving and responding to reports of actual or suspected abuse of relevant adults. This includes elder abuse.

To report abuse or suspected abuse to the Adult Safeguarding Unit, call 1800 372 310 Monday to Friday, between 9 am and 4 pm, email adultsafeguardingunit@sa.gov.au or complete the online contact form.

What does the Adult Safeguarding Unit do?

The Adult Safeguarding Unit’s primary purpose is to safeguard relevant adults [Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (SA) s 11A].

Safeguarding is defined by the Act as supporting the relevant adult to promote and protect their health, wellbeing and rights or, where required, protecting, or supporting others to protect, the relevant adult's health, wellbeing and rights, with the goal of enabling the relevant adult to live free from abuse [s 4A].

The Adult Safeguarding Unit receives reports of abuse, assesses relevant matters, and, when required, investigates reports of abuse or suspected abuse of relevant adults in South Australia [s 15(1)(a), 23, 25].

The Unit coordinates safeguarding responses to reports of abuse when the response needs the help of multiple agencies to support the relevant adult [s 15(1)(c)]. The Unit also refers relevant matters relating to suspected abuse to appropriate agencies [s 15(1)(e)].

The Adult Safeguarding Unit promotes and advocates for the rights and interests of relevant adults in South Australia. The Unit also provides education, information and advice to people who make reports [s 15(1)(d)].

Principles underpinning the operation of the Adult Safeguarding Unit

The following principles guide the Adult Safeguarding Unit in its day-to-day work and operations [s 12]:

Who is a relevant adult?

The Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (SA) defines a relevant adult as a person who is 18 years or older who may be vulnerable to abuse. Whether an adult may be vulnerable to abuse is to be determined by reference to the circumstances of the adult as they exist at the material time [s 3].

What is abuse?

For the Adult Safeguarding Unit to receive and investigate a report of abuse, a relevant adult must be experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, abuse.

The Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (SA) broadly defines abuse of a relevant adult as an act or series of acts, including a failure to take appropriate action, occurring within a relationship of trust, dependency or imbalance of power, that causes harm to the relevant adult [s 4(1)].

The Act states that abuse may include 1 or more of the following:

What is decision-making capacity?

It is presumed that an adult has decision-making capacity, unless there is evidence to the contrary [see sections 5(1) and 12(b)].

A person will be taken to have impaired decision-making capacity in respect of a particular decision if the person is not capable of [s 5(2)]:

However, a person will not be taken to have impaired decision-making capacity just because their capacity fluctuates (changes), they are unable to understand technical or trivial matters, or they are unable to remember the information for an extended period of time [s 5(3)]. Similarly, a decision made by a relevant adult that results in an adverse (negative) outcome for them is not a sign that they have impaired decision-making capacity [s 5(3)(d)].

Who can make a report?

Any person who is concerned about a relevant adult experiencing abuse or at risk of abuse can report their concerns to the Adult Safeguarding Unit [see s 22(1)]. This includes concerned friends and family, carers, and the person who may be vulnerable to abuse themselves.

The consent of the relevant adult is not required for a report to be made, but consent will usually be needed if a safeguarding response is proposed [s 28]. Consent is defined by the Act as “a free and voluntary decision”.

The Adult Safeguarding Unit aims to work with the relevant adult in responding to the abuse or alleged abuse.

Reports to the Adult Safeguarding Unit can be made anonymously.

The Unit must not disclose the identity of a reporter, except where the disclosure is made with the reporter’s consent, or authorised or required by law, or determined by the Director of the Unit to be necessary in the circumstances [s 49A].

How is a report made?

To report abuse or suspected abuse to the Adult Safeguarding Unit, call 1800 372 310 Monday to Friday, between 9 am and 4 pm, email adultsafeguardingunit@sa.gov.au or complete the online contact form.

Is it mandatory to make a report?

There are no mandatory reporting obligations that require workers or other members of the community to report abuse to the Adult Safeguarding Unit [s 22(4)]. Reporting is voluntary and may be anonymous.

Powers of the Adult Safeguarding Unit

The Adult Safeguarding Unit is empowered to receive, assess and investigate reports of abuse or suspected abuse of relevant adults.

Once a report of abuse or suspected abuse is received, the Unit must assess the report and must [s 23(5)]:

Authorised officers have various powers available to them under the Act for the purposes of an assessment, an investigation, or monitoring the implementation of a safeguarding response (generally with the adult’s consent).

These powers include [s 30]:

An authorised officer can only use force to enter any premises, place, vehicle or vessel where either:

It is an offence to fail to comply, without reasonable excuse, with any direction of an authorised officer in exercising their powers under section 30 as outlined above [see s 30(7)].

SACAT orders

The Adult Safeguarding Unit or an eligible person may apply to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for orders to safeguard relevant adults [s 31].

An eligible person includes the relevant adult, a guardian, or a substitute decision-maker [s 31(5)].

The orders that may be made include [s 33]:

Consent of the relevant adult

The Adult Safeguarding Unit will seek the consent of the relevant adult before undertaking a safeguarding response [s 28].

There are limited circumstances where the Unit may act to safeguard an adult without first obtaining their consent. These include [s 28(2)]:

Serious financial abuse means the improper use of a relevant adult's assets or the use or withholding of a relevant adult's resources to the extent that the abuse has caused, or is likely to cause, hardship to, or otherwise have a significant impact on, the relevant adult [s 4B(2)].

Serious criminal offence means a criminal offence which has been, or is likely to be, committed against a relevant adult which has had, or is likely to have, a significant adverse impact on the relevant adult or their ordinary quality or standard of living [s 4B(3)].

Whether abuse, financial abuse or a criminal offence is serious is to be determined on a case-by-case basis with reference to the impact of the abuse or offence on the relevant adult to whom the relevant matter relates [s 4B(4)].

Safeguarding Plans

As part of a safeguarding response, the Unit will explore ways in which the relevant adult can be supported so as to stop the abuse occurring or minimise the risk of further abuse. This will be done with the consent and involvement of the relevant adult (except in specific circumstances, see Consent of the relevant adult above).

The Unit may suggest a multi-agency response, where various agencies work together to provide support to the relevant adult in addressing the abuse. The Unit may provide a lead role in coordinating agencies in responding to the abuse of the relevant adult, including by holding an inter-agency adult safeguarding meeting to develop a safeguarding plan.

In conjunction with the relevant adult, and with their wishes and preferences kept in mind, a safeguarding plan may be developed which will outline the suggested actions and supports taken to respond to the abuse of the vulnerable adult.

A safeguarding plan can include:

[See South Australian Adult Safeguarding Unit Code of Practice (July 2026) (PDF download, 2.9MB) page 30].

Complaints

A complaint about a decision or action of the Adult Safeguarding Unit should first be raised directly with the Unit.

Internal review

A person who is unhappy with a decision made by the Adult Safeguarding Unit may be able to request an internal review by the Chief Executive of the Department of Human Services.

An application for internal review should be made within 30 days of receiving the decision notice, by emailing the Office of the Chief Executive at: enquiries@dhs.sa.gov.au

Certain decisions of the Unit may be subject to an internal review process. Those decisions include:

[See South Australian Adult Safeguarding Unit Code of Practice (July 2026) (PDF download, 2.9MB) page 48].

The internal review must be completed within 30 days [Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (SA) s 38(3a) and Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Regulations 2019 reg 9] unless further information has not been provided if requested or there are special reasons requiring an extension of time [Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 (SA) s 38(3b)].

The decision under review can be confirmed, varied or reversed [s 38(3)], and the complainant will be notified of the outcome of the review and the reasons for the determination made [s 38(4)].

An internal review may commence, or may continue, despite the relevant adult having died, if considered to be in the public interest to do so [s 38(2a)].

External review

A person who is dissatisfied with an internal review determination relating to circumstances in which a relevant adult is, or is suspected of being, at risk of serious abuse may apply to the SA Ombudsman for an external review [s 40(1)].

Serious abuse is defined as abuse which has had, or is likely to have, a significant impact on the relevant adult [s 4B(1)]. Whether abuse is serious is determined on a case-by-case basis with reference to the impact of the abuse on the relevant adult to whom the relevant matter relates [s 4B(4)].

An external review may commence, or may continue, despite the relevant adult having died, if considered to be in the public interest to do so [s 40(1a)].

For more information, see the Adult Safeguarding Unit website.