{"id":"ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019","name":"Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Regulations 2019","slug":"ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":235205,"registerId":"sa-ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Regulations 2019","content":"South Australia\nAgeing and Adult Safeguarding Regulations 2019\nunder the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tState authorities\n5\tPreparation of the Charter\n6\tPrescribed State authorities—Charter\n7\tPrescribed State authorities—Codes of practice\n8\tConsent\n9\tReferrals\n10\tSharing of information\n11\tConfidentiality\nLegislative history\n\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Regulations 2019.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on the day on which section 6 of the Office for the Ageing (Adult Safeguarding) Amendment Act 2018 comes into operation.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—\nAct means the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995;\nPublic Advocate means the person holding or acting in the office of Public Advocate under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993.\n4—State authorities\nFor the purposes of the definition of State authority in section 2(1) of the Act, the following persons and bodies are declared not to be a State authority for the purposes of the Act:\n\t(a)\teach court, and each tribunal established under an Act, in the State;\n\t(b)\tthe Legal Services Commission.\n5—Preparation of the Charter\nFor the purposes of section 20(3)(a) of the Act, the Public Advocate is prescribed.\n6—Prescribed State authorities—Charter\nFor the purposes of section 20(6) of the Act, the Office for Ageing Well is prescribed.\n7—Prescribed State authorities—Codes of practice\nFor the purposes of section 21(5) of the Act, the Office for Ageing Well is prescribed.\n8—Consent\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of section 24(4)(a)(v) of the Act, circumstances in which it is, in the opinion of the Adult Safeguarding Unit, necessary or appropriate that action of the relevant kind be taken without first obtaining the consent of the vulnerable adult are declared to be included in the ambit of that paragraph.\n\t(2)\tPursuant to section 24(5) of the Act—\n\t(a)\tconsent for the purposes of that section may be obtained orally or in writing;\n\t(b)\tthe obtaining of consent for the purposes of that section must comply with any requirements determined by the Director.\n9—Referrals\n\t(1)\tPursuant to section 25(5) of the Act, a referral under that section must be by notice in writing (including, to avoid doubt, by electronic means).\n\t(2)\tPursuant to section 25(5) of the Act, a State authority, person or body to whom the Director refers a matter, or part of a matter, under that section may refuse the referral on 1 or more of the following grounds:\n\t(a)\tlack of resources or capacity to accept the referral at the relevant time;\n\t(b)\tthe referral is inappropriate having regard to the services provided by the State authority, person or body;\n\t(c)\tthe Director, after consultation with the State authority, person or body, agrees to the refusal,\nhowever, nothing in this subregulation affects any statutory duty that the State authority, person or body may have in respect of a matter that is the subject of the referral.\n\t(3)\tPursuant to section 25(5) of the Act, a State authority, person or body to whom the Director refers a matter, or part of a matter, under that section must, in a manner and form determined by the Director and within the period specified by the Director (not exceeding 5 business days), indicate to the Director whether or not the State authority, person or body will refuse the referral.\n\t(4)\tPursuant to section 25(5) of the Act, if the Director refers a matter, or part of a matter, to a State authority other than the Adult Safeguarding Unit under section 25 of the Act, the State authority must, if the Director so requires, provide a report in relation to the matter to the Director.\n\t(5)\tPursuant to section 25(5) of the Act, a report under subregulation (4) must be made in a manner and form, and within the period, determined by the Director.\n\t(6)\tPursuant to section 25(5) of the Act, the Director may, if the Director considers it appropriate to do so, exempt a specified person or body, or a specified class of persons or bodies, from a requirement to provide a report in relation to a specified matter under section 25(4) of the Act.\n10—Sharing of information\n\t(1)\tFor the purposes of section 43(1)(c) of the Act, the following persons and bodies are declared to be included in the ambit of that subsection:\n\t(a)\tthe South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal;\n\t(b)\ta person or body to whom a matter, or part of a matter, is referred under section 25 of the Act.\n\t(2)\tFor the purposes of section 43(2) of the Act, a recipient who is a person or body referred to in subregulation (1)(b) may only provide, or be provided with, information or documents under that section in relation to the extent that the information or documents relate to a matter, or part of a matter, referred to the recipient under section 25 of the Act.\n\t(3)\tFor the purposes of section 43(2) of the Act, a provider must comply with the following requirements:\n\t(a)\tthe provider must confirm the identity of the recipient to whom prescribed information is to be provided;\n\t(b)\tthe provider must be satisfied that the recipient is, in fact, a person or body to whom section 43 of the Act applies;\n\t(c)\tthe provider must take reasonable steps to ensure that the prescribed information is not provided to any other person or body (being a person or body who is not a person or body to whom section 43 of the Act applies).\n\t(4)\tFor the purposes of section 43(6)(c) of the Act, the following information and documents are prescribed:\n\t(a)\tinformation or documents relating to an order or orders made by the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in respect of a vulnerable adult or class of vulnerable adults;\n\t(b)\tinformation or documents that may reduce a risk to the health or safety of a person or body performing official functions in relation to a vulnerable adult or class of vulnerable adults.\n11—Confidentiality\nPursuant to section 49(4) of the Act, information obtained in the course of the administration of the Act may be disclosed by a person in accordance with the written authorisation of the Director.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tVariations of this version that are uncommenced are not incorporated into the text.\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal regulations and variations\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2019\n159\nGazette 20.6.2019 p2209 \n1.10.2019: r 2\n2025\n135\nGazette 4.12.2025 p4717\n1.7.2026: r 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"These regulations remain tightly focused on their original purpose of operationalising the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995. They prescribe specific entities for administrative functions, set procedural requirements for consent, referrals, and information sharing, and define exclusions from State authority status. There is no evidence of scope creep; the regulations do not create new substantive rights or obligations beyond what is necessary to implement the parent Act's framework."},"complexity_factors":["Only 2 defined terms in the interpretation section ('Act' and 'Public Advocate')","Straightforward prescriptive provisions without nested conditions","Minimal cross-referencing—primarily references back to specific sections of the parent Act","No exceptions to exceptions; clear operational rules","Short length (11 substantive regulations plus commencement provisions)","Regulations serve a single purpose: operationalising the parent Act without expanding policy scope"],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations set out the practical rules for how South Australia's adult safeguarding system operates under the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995. They specify:\n\n**Who does what:**\n- The **Public Advocate** (an independent statutory officer who protects vulnerable adults) prepares the Charter of Rights for vulnerable adults\n- The **Office for Ageing Well** develops codes of practice and handles Charter-related duties for State authorities\n\n**Who is excluded:**\n- Courts, tribunals, and the Legal Services Commission are explicitly **not** treated as \"State authorities\" under the Act, meaning they don't have to follow certain obligations imposed on government agencies\n\n**How consent works:**\n- Normally, the Adult Safeguarding Unit must get a vulnerable adult's permission before taking action to protect them\n- These regulations allow the Unit to act **without consent** when they believe it's \"necessary or appropriate\"\n- Consent can be given verbally or in writing, but must follow any rules set by the Director\n\n**How referrals work:**\n- When the Director refers a safeguarding matter to another agency, it must be done in writing (including email)\n- Agencies can refuse referrals if they lack resources, the referral doesn't fit their services, or the Director agrees\n- Agencies must respond within 5 business days whether they'll accept or refuse\n- The Director can demand progress reports and exempt certain bodies from reporting requirements\n\n**How information is shared:**\n- The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and referral recipients can receive confidential information about vulnerable adults\n- Information can only be shared about the specific matter referred\n- Anyone sharing information must verify the recipient's identity and ensure it doesn't go to unauthorised parties\n- Tribunal orders and safety-risk information can be shared to protect staff\n\n**Confidentiality exceptions:**\n- Normally confidential information can be disclosed if the Director gives written permission\n\n**Why this matters:** These regulations fill in the operational gaps of the adult safeguarding legislation—determining who can act without consent, how agencies cooperate, and how sensitive information moves between organisations while protecting vulnerable adults from abuse, neglect, or exploitation."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative text was provided. The submission contains only a website error page, not the regulations themselves."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 404 error","No substantive provisions, definitions, or regulatory mechanisms could be assessed","Complexity rating reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The supplied link to the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Regulations 2019 (SA) returns a 404 error, so the regulation text could not be retrieved or analysed. These regulations sit under the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 and concern protections for older people and adults with disability at risk of abuse, neglect or exploitation — check www.legislation.sa.gov.au for the current document."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulations do not alter the Act’s substantive prohibitions but define and limit its operational scope: they exclude courts and the Legal Services Commission from 'State authority' (r 4), prescribe which offices prepare the Charter and codes (rr 5–7), and impose procedural rules on consent (r 8), referrals and reporting (r 9), information sharing (r 10) and confidentiality disclosures (r 11). These prescriptions and exemptions modify how and to whom the Act is applied in practice."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995 create interpretive dependence on primary legislation (see regs 3, 5–7, 8–11).","Discretion granted to the Director and the Adult Safeguarding Unit over consent procedures, reporting forms, timeframes and exemptions (rr 8(2)(b), 9(3)–(6), 11).","Prescriptive procedural requirements for referrals, refusal grounds and reporting deadlines (r 9(1)–(5)); administrative burden on recipients to respond within specified timeframes (r 9(3)).","Information‑sharing safeguards that require identity confirmation, scope limits, and limits on onward disclosure (r 10(2)–(3)); these create compliance checks for providers.","Specified inclusions and exclusions to the definition of ‘State authority’ affecting which bodies are subject to the Act (r 4) and prescription of particular authorities for Charter and codes (rr 5–7).","Broad but defined list of circumstances where action without consent may be taken 'in the opinion of' the Adult Safeguarding Unit, introducing evaluative judgment (r 8(1))."],"plain_english_summary":"These regulations add procedural detail to the Ageing and Adult Safeguarding Act 1995: they prescribe the Public Advocate and the Office for Ageing Well for Charter and code roles, exclude courts and the Legal Services Commission from the Act’s definition of ‘State authority’, and set rules on consent, written referrals, refusal and reporting, information‑sharing safeguards, and Director‑authorised confidentiality.\n\nThey affect State authorities, referral recipients and information providers. Decision‑making lies with the Director and the Adult Safeguarding Unit, who set consent processes, report formats, timeframes and exemptions; compliance costs fall on referred bodies and providers required to verify identities and supply reports."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019","history":"/api/acts/ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019/history","analysis":"/api/acts/ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/ageing-and-adult-safeguarding-regulations-2019/documents"}}