New SA domestic violence plan announced
UPDATED: A year after SA’s landmark domestic violence report was handed down, a new plan has been announced to address its recommendations – including changes to alcohol delivery.
Premier Peter Malinauskas unveiled a five-year plan to deliver on SA’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence recommendations on Tuesday afternoon.
Malinauskas was joined by Consumer and Business Affairs Minister Michael Brown for the announcement, the minister responsible for liquor licensing laws – a key reform asked for by the Royal Commission.
Today’s announcement comes almost exactly a year after Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja AO handed down a 667-page report with 136 recommendations on August 19, 2025.
A key recommendation was to restrict alcohol delivery, and before the state election the government committed to reforming the state’s liquor licensing laws – the first Australian state to do so.
This week, the reforms will be introduced to parliament to regulate online alcohol delivery, including same-day alcohol delivery being restricted between 10am and 10pm and a minimum two-hour “safety pause” between sale and delivery.
“These landmark reforms are an important step towards strengthening the regulation of online alcohol delivery to reduce alcohol-related harm and better protect victim-survivors,” Brown said.
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The Royal Commission found that at a national level, alcohol use was involved in about one-third of all domestic violence and family violence incidents, and received many submissions from South Australians relating to alcohol and drug use.
The Premier said in a December 2025 press conference that the government would introduce that legislation “immediately upon the parliament sitting post-election”.
In July, the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education criticised the government for “back-pedalling” and “stalling” on the reform.
A government spokesperson said in a statement at the time that it had been working on the bill for consultation before bringing it to parliament.
Today’s announcement also coincides with parliament returning after its winter break.
Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Minister Alice Rolls and domestic violence peak body Embolden CEO Mary Leaker also joined the Premier to announce a five-year plan to tackle the recommendations on Tuesday afternoon.
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Developing a five-year statewide strategy to address SA’s domestic violence problem was one of the first recommendations the state government committed to in 2025.
The plan, called ‘Building safer futures’, sets out how the government will implement 63 recommendations it has accepted in full, 19 in part and six that it has noted.
It would focus on “uplifting and stabilising” the existing domestic, family and sexual violence system and then introduce broader reform in mid-2027.
“The Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence marked a defining moment in our state’s history and we are committed to responding appropriately to its findings,” Malinauskas said.
“Where it is safe to do so, the government is working quickly – but it’s also vitally important that the time is taken to get this transformation right.”
To deliver the recommendations, a ten-year commitment of $673.6 million was announced last year, and the latest budget revealed how the pot would be divvied up, with $231.6 million to be spent before 2029.
SA Police received the most funding, with $182.8 million to establish a dedicated Domestic Family and Sexual Violence service. While $82.6 million would provide new services to those experiencing violence, and $43.7 million would expand prevention programs.
On average, one woman is killed by an intimate partner every 11 days in Australia, and just over one in four women and one in seven men experienced partner violence or abuse, according to the Royal Commission.
It was protests held on the steps of Parliament House over four women killed in one week in 2023 that led to the Royal Commission beginning its work in 2024. It examined the key themes of prevention, early intervention, response, recovery and healing.
The government has already established a standalone ministerial portfolio to focus on domestic, family and sexual violence, which was a recommendation of the commission.
Alice Rolls, who was elected in March 2026, was appointed the minister, saying today, “I don’t underestimate the responsibility of this role”.
“Behind every recommendation is a person, family or community affected by violence, and that’s what will drive our work every day,” Rolls said.
“This work is bigger than any one government or agency. Real change will take all of us working together. I’m committed to listening and ensuring people with lived experience help guide the reforms ahead.”
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