{"id":"family-and-community-services-regulations-2024","name":"Family and Community Services Regulations 2024","slug":"family-and-community-services-regulations-2024","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":235504,"registerId":"sa-family-and-community-services-regulations-2024-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-06","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Family and Community Services Regulations 2024","content":"South Australia\nFamily and Community Services Regulations 2024\nunder the Family and Community Services Act 1972\n\nContents\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1\tShort title\n2\tCommencement\n3\tInterpretation\nPart 2—Residential care facilities\n4\tManagement etc of residential care facilities\n5\tProhibited treatment of children in residential care facilities\n6\tUse of force against children in residential care facilities\nSchedule 1—Repeal of Family and Community Services Regulations 2009\nLegislative history\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n1—Short title\nThese regulations may be cited as the Family and Community Services Regulations 2024.\n2—Commencement\nThese regulations come into operation on the day on which they are made.\n3—Interpretation\nIn these regulations—\nAct means the Family and Community Services Act 1972;\nresidential care facility means a residential care facility established under section 36 of the Act.\nPart 2—Residential care facilities\n4—Management etc of residential care facilities\nThe Chief Executive must ensure that adequate arrangements are in place in a residential care facility—\n\t(a)\tto maintain the physical, psychological and emotional wellbeing of children placed in the facility; and\n\t(b)\tto promote the social, cultural and educational development of children placed in the facility; and\n\t(c)\tto ensure, through the implementation of operational procedures, the proper management of the facility.\n5—Prohibited treatment of children in residential care facilities\nSubject to these regulations, a child placed in a residential care facility must not be subjected to any of the following kinds of treatment:\n\t(a)\tcorporal punishment of any form (that is, any action that inflicts or is intended to inflict physical pain or discomfort);\n\t(b)\tisolation from other children in the facility by, for example, being kept apart from the normal routine of the facility;\n\t(c)\tpsychological pressure or emotional abuse of any form;\n\t(d)\tdeprivation of medical attention, basic food or drink, clothing or any other essential item;\n\t(e)\tdeprivation of sleep;\n\t(f)\tunjustified deprivation of contact with persons outside the facility;\n\t(g)\tany other treatment that is cruel, inhuman or degrading.\n6—Use of force against children in residential care facilities\n\t(1)\tAn employee in a residential care facility may only use such force against a child placed in the facility as is reasonably necessary in any particular case—\n\t(a)\tto prevent the child from harming themselves or another person; or\n\t(b)\tto prevent the child from causing significant damage to property.\n\t(2)\tHowever, an employee in a residential care facility may only use force under subsection (1)—\n\t(a)\tas a last resort to ensure immediate safety where no other intervention strategies are available; and\n\t(b)\tin the least restrictive way; and\n\t(c)\tfor the shortest period possible,\n(and the force used must be proportionate in the circumstances).\n\t(3)\tAn employee in a residential care facility who uses force against a child placed in the facility must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the use of force—\n\t(a)\tprepare a written report (in a manner and form determined by the Chief Executive) relating to the use of force setting out the following:\n\t(i)\tthe name of the child;\n\t(ii)\tthe name of each employee in the facility involved in, or who witnessed, the use of force;\n\t(iii)\tthe date, time and location in the facility where the use of force took place;\n\t(iv)\tthe nature of the force used and the purpose for which, or circumstances in which, the force was used;\n\t(v)\tany follow‑up action undertaken as a result of the use of force; and\n\t(b)\tcause the report to be verified in accordance with subregulation (4); and\n\t(c)\tsubmit the report (and a copy of any report referred to in subregulation (4)(b)) to the supervisor of the facility.\n\t(4)\tA written report is to be verified by each employee who was involved in, or who witnessed, the use of force, doing 1 or both of the following:\n\t(a)\tcertifying on the written report, in accordance with any determination of the Chief Executive, that the report is an accurate account of the use of force against the child;\n\t(b)\tproviding a separate written report setting out such of the matters referred to in subregulation (3)(a) as may be known to the employee.\n\t(5)\tA child placed in a residential care facility against whom force was used must be offered a reasonable opportunity to prepare an account of the use of force and the incident leading to the use of force.\n\t(6)\tIf a child accepts an offer under subregulation (5), the account must be—\n\t(a)\twritten, signed and dated by the child; or\n\t(b)\tif the child cannot write—\n\t(i)\twritten on the instructions of the child, and signed and dated, by a person nominated for the purpose by the child; and\n\t(ii)\tsigned by the child,\n(and such account must be kept together with the report required to be prepared under subregulation (3)).\n\t(7)\tA child may nominate any of the following persons for the purposes of subregulation (6)(b)(i):\n\t(a)\tthe child's case manager or case worker;\n\t(b)\ta lawyer;\n\t(c)\ta cultural advisor;\n\t(d)\tany other adult,\n(but any such person nominated may not be a person who was present during the use of force against the child or the relevant incident that led to the use of force).\nSchedule 1—Repeal of Family and Community Services Regulations 2009\nThe Family and Community Services Regulations 2009 are repealed.\nLegislative history\nNotes\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\nYear\nNo\nReference\nCommencement\n2024\n68\nGazette 11.7.2024 p2156 \n11.7.2024: r 2\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations appear tightly focused on their original purpose: setting operational standards for residential care facilities. The scope aligns with the enabling Act (Family and Community Services Act 1972, section 36) which provides for establishment of such facilities. The 2024 version replaces the 2009 regulations without apparent expansion into new policy areas."},"complexity_factors":["Only 3 defined terms in the interpretation section (Act, residential care facility, and implicit definitions through context)","Straightforward structure with just 2 substantive Parts (Preliminary and Residential care facilities)","Minimal cross-referencing — only internal references to the Act and within the regulations themselves","Clear, prescriptive language with limited conditional logic (primarily 'only if' conditions in regulation 6)","No nested exceptions or complex definitional chains","Single Schedule dealing solely with repeal of previous regulations","Total length is approximately 6 substantive regulations"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this legislation does:**\n\nThese regulations set the rules for how **residential care facilities** (group homes or institutional care settings for children who can't live with their families) must operate in South Australia. They replace older regulations from 2009.\n\n**Key protections for children:**\n\n*   **Basic wellbeing**: Facilities must maintain children's physical, psychological, and emotional health, plus support their social, cultural, and educational development.\n*   **Banned treatments**: Children cannot be hit (corporal punishment), isolated from others, psychologically abused, denied food/medical care/clothing, deprived of sleep, cut off from outside contact without justification, or subjected to any cruel or degrading treatment.\n*   **Strict limits on physical restraint**: Staff can only use force as an absolute last resort — specifically to stop a child from hurting themselves, hurting someone else, or causing major property damage. Even then, force must be:\n    *   The least restrictive option available\n    *   Used for the shortest time possible\n    *   Proportional to the situation\n\n**Accountability requirements:**\n\n*   Staff must write detailed reports after any use of force, including who was involved, what happened, and why.\n*   Multiple staff must verify the accuracy of these reports.\n*   **Crucially**, the child must be given a fair chance to tell their side of the story — either writing it themselves or having someone they trust (like a case worker, lawyer, or cultural advisor) write it for them. This account must be kept with the official report.\n\n**Who it affects:**\n\nChildren living in state-run or state-licensed residential care, and the staff who work with them.\n\n**Why it matters:**\n\nThese rules create enforceable minimum standards to protect vulnerable children in state care from abuse and excessive restraint, while ensuring transparency when force is used. The requirement that children can contribute their own account of incidents is particularly significant — it gives them a voice in official records about their own treatment."},"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"},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"Schedule 1 expressly repeals the Family and Community Services Regulations 2009 and replaces them with the 2024 Regulations. The 2024 Regulations set out provisions limited to management duties for residential care facilities, prohibited treatments of children, and use‑of‑force conditions and reporting. The source text does not reproduce the 2009 Regulations, so direct content‑by‑content comparison is not provided here; the instrument clearly changes the subordinate instrument in force by repeal and replacement."},"complexity_factors":["Qualitative management standards requiring interpretation — 'adequate arrangements' to maintain wellbeing and 'promote' development (Regulation 4).","Use‑of‑force criteria framed with open standards: 'reasonably necessary', 'last resort', 'least restrictive', 'shortest period', and 'proportionate' (Regulation 6(1)–(2)) — necessitates frontline judgement calls.","Detailed reporting and verification regime (who must prepare, verify and submit reports; form determined by the Chief Executive) creates administrative and record‑keeping burdens (Regulation 6(3)–(4)).","Procedural requirements for offering and preserving a child's account and limits on who may be nominated introduce case‑management complexity (Regulation 6(5)–(7)).","Repeal of the 2009 Regulations (Schedule 1) raises transitional and legal‑scope questions that must be handled administratively.","Reliance on definitions and powers in the parent Act (term 'residential care facility' defined by reference to the Act—Regulation 3) creates cross‑instrument dependency.","No express civil or criminal enforcement or penalty regime is included in the text of these Regulations, so compliance consequences are governed elsewhere in law or policy (observable absence in these Regulations)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations replace the 2009 instrument and set minimum rules for residential care facilities under the Family and Community Services Act. The Chief Executive must ensure arrangements that support children's physical, psychological and social wellbeing, the Regulations ban certain mistreatments, and they restrict and require reporting where staff use force. They apply to children placed in state residential care, facility employees and supervisors, and the Chief Executive's office because they create duties, reporting and record‑keeping obligations staff must follow."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to assess whether scope changed from original intent — the text of the legislation was not available for review. The submission returned a 404-style error page from the SA Legislation website, containing no regulatory content."},"complexity_factors":["No actual legislative text was provided — the submission contains only a website error page","Cannot assess complexity without the substantive content of the regulations","Score of 1 reflects absence of analysable material, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"The submitted Family and Community Services Regulations 2024 (SA) could not be analysed because the link returned a \"Page Not Found\" error; the file provided was an error page, not the regulation text. Typically such regulations set administrative rules for welfare services, licensing, child protection procedures and eligibility, affecting families, carers, social workers and community service organisations — to proceed, please paste the regulation text or a working link."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/family-and-community-services-regulations-2024","history":"/api/acts/family-and-community-services-regulations-2024/history","analysis":"/api/acts/family-and-community-services-regulations-2024/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/family-and-community-services-regulations-2024/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/family-and-community-services-regulations-2024/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/family-and-community-services-regulations-2024/documents"}}