Protecting the community remained at the heart of our work over the 2024-25 financial year, with the Government’s ongoing commitment to law and order reflected in the work undertaken by many of our business units.

It was a great honour for the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD) to host and support the work undertaken by the Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, led by Commissioner Natasha Stott-Despoja AO.

The Commission’s groundbreaking work, which concluded in August 2025, was the culmination of a tremendous amount of effort by the Commissioner and her team, who heard from over 5,000 people brave enough to share their advice, expertise and lived experience.

The final report, titled With Courage, is the culmination of that body of work. The report makes 136 recommendations, aimed at reducing the risk of domestic, family and sexual violence, and improving responses to this scourge.

The start of the 2024-25 financial year, also marked the beginning of a new era for South Australia’s consumer watchdog, Consumer and Business Services (CBS), as it took over the regulation of the sale of tobacco and vapes in the state.

This was a significant task, and a major expansion of CBS’ regulatory role.

South Australia now has tough laws aimed at those who pose a very real risk to public health by selling illicit tobacco and vapes.

Operationally, CBS has been working in partnership with other key enforcement agencies including SA Police and the Australian Border Force, seizing more than $40 million in illicit product across the state.

In addition, the Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs has so far issued 50 short-term closure notices, as the regulator continues its investigations into the sale of illicit tobacco and vapes.

CBS has also been at the forefront of Government reforms to South Australia’s Residential Tenancies Act aimed at strengthening protections available to tenants, while ensuring the rights of landlords are also protected, and changes to the Second Hand Vehicle Dealers Act to crack down on unscrupulous operators who prey on unsuspecting consumers.

Under the leadership of incoming Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Brett Humphrey, CBS has also commenced a significant body of work to improve the regulator’s operations and to better support staff wellbeing.

A focus on law and order has been especially apparent in the work undertaken by the team in Legislative Services, who have overseen a number of key public safety reforms driven by the Government, including the establishment of a public child sex offender register and sweeping reforms to minimise the risk of knife crime.

At a time when the role of social media and artificial intelligence has never been under greater scrutiny, Legislative Services also led work in laws to combat the posting of deepfake images, as well as tackling those who seek to gain notoriety from their criminal activities by posting and boasting on social media.

Legislative Services has also undertaken important work through the Special Minister of State Portfolio, preparing important reforms aimed at strengthening democracy, including a ban on the use of robocalls by political candidates and the world-leading legislation to prohibit political donations.

This legislative reform work would be impossible without the assistance of the staff of the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, who support the reform work of not only the Attorney-General and Minister Michaels but the entire Parliament.

During 2024-25, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) continued its critical work in the prosecution of a range of complex criminal matters and civil confiscation proceedings.  This included arguing a High Court appeal in the major drug matter of Operation Ironside and the long-running trial and appeal for eight accused charged with murdering Jason De Ieso.

Part of our role in law and order, of course, is the work of Forensic Science SA (FSSA). Earlier in this term of Government, nearly $350 million was allocated to the construction of a new South Australia Forensic Centre, to accommodate FSSA and South Australia Police’s Forensic Science Branch. Detailed design work is underway to ensure that our scientists can continue working at the cutting edge of research in years to come.

AGD also oversaw the Government’s record $870 million investment in the state’s police and ambulance aerial fleet through its contract with Toll Aviation, to provide fixed-wing and rotary-wing to support law enforcement, search and rescue and medical retrieval operations. The new service will commence in October 2027.

The dedicated lawyers working within the Crown Solicitor’s Office and the Solicitor-General have also been working tirelessly to provide advice to Government across a range of key matters affecting South Australians.

This includes advice to Government on the administration of the Whyalla steelworks, the new Women’s and Children’s Hospital, the redevelopment of the North Adelaide Golf Course, reforms to the state’s child protection laws and representing the Government in matters relating to child protection and high risk offenders.

In the Industrial Relations portfolio, workplace safety regulator SafeWork SA has continued to excel.

In 2024-25, the regulator recorded its highest number of convictions for workplace safety breaches in over a decade, with 18 convictions received across 14 separate matters that went before the South Australian Employment Tribunal.  This resulted in record fines totalling $2.4 million, a significant result and reflection of the high-quality work undertaken by investigators.

Also in the Industrial Relations portfolio, the Government passed comprehensive Portable Long Service Leave laws, governing a portable long service leave scheme and ensuring people working in the community services industry have access.

During 2024-25, the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity continued to look at the prevalence of bullying and harassment within the legal profession. In January 2025, the Commissioner released an updated review, that found that while improvements had been made across the sector, considerably more work was needed to better combat bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment.

The Commissioner’s WE’RE EQUAL initiative has also been gaining momentum, with 226 venues now signed on to this groundbreaking initiative that has now received a Premier’s Award for Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Considerable work has also been undertaken across the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) portfolios.

The Voice Secretariat has supported the First Nations Voice to State Parliament to continue its work, delivering a historic address to the whole of Parliament, seeking views from local communities and providing advice to Government on a range of issues confronting Aboriginal communities around South Australia.

AAR has also played a key role in monitoring and supporting work across Government, aimed at meeting Closing the Gap targets, improving outcomes for Aboriginal people in health, education, early childhood, employment, criminal justice and economic development.

As always, it has been an honour and a privilege to lead a diverse, dedicated workforce and to work with the Honourable Kyam Maher and the Honourable Andrea Michaels, as well as their staff.

Our strategic focus

Our organisational structure as at 30 June 2025 (PDF, 187.6 KB)

Changes to the agency

During 2024-25, the following changes to the agency’s structure and objectives occurred:

• The Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment (OCPSE) became an attached office to the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) effective from 1 July 2024.
• The Mining and Quarrying Occupational Health and Safety Committee transferred to Return to Work SA effective 1 September 2024.

Annual Reporting

The following areas of AGD submit their own annual reports:

• Equal Opportunity SA
• Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
• Office of the Public Advocate
• Ombudsman SA
• Public Trustee
• South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
• South Australian Employment Tribunal
• State Records SA
• Victims of Crime SA.

Other agencies that submit their own annual report, and fall within the Portfolio responsibility of the Attorney-General, Special Minister of State or Minister for Small and Family Business, are:

• Courts Administration Authority
• Electoral Commissioner
• Independent Commission Against Corruption
• Judicial Conduct Commissioner
• Legal Services Commission
• Office of the Inspector
• Office for Public Integrity
• Small Business Commission.

The Hon Kyam Maher MLC

The Hon Kyam Maher MLC, Deputy Premier, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector and Special Minister of State, is the state’s principal legal advisor to the government.

The Minister is a member of Cabinet and is responsible for:

• exercising certain powers and regulating and administering a range of legislation
• developing and implementing policy
• legal action relevant to the state government.

The Hon Andrea Michaels MP

The Hon Andrea Michaels MP is the South Australian Minister for Small and Family Business, and Consumer and Business Affairs.

The Minister supports sustainable economic growth by assisting South Australian industries and businesses to succeed in a local and global environment as well as protecting consumers and supporting and regulating business.

Mike Wait SC

Mike is the Solicitor-General which is a statutory officer appointed by the Governor under the Solicitor-General Act 1972. The Solicitor-General is the second law officer of the state. Acting on the instructions of the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General advises the state and appears as counsel on behalf of the state, including on behalf of the Crown Solicitor and the Director of Public Prosecutions, as required.

Martin Hinton KC

Martin is the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). He is a statutory officer, independent of AGD, who initiates and conducts criminal prosecutions in the Magistrates, District and Supreme Courts of South Australia. The DPP also conducts appeals in the Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia. The DPP oversees the operations of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) comprising Trial Counsel, Solicitors (including Confiscations), and Business Services (including the Witness Assistance Service) to ensure the ODPP provides an independent and effective criminal prosecution service that is timely, efficient, and just.

Lucinda Byers

Lucinda is the Crown Solicitor of South Australia and is responsible for leading the Crown Solicitor’s Office (CSO), which comprises the Public Law, Civil Litigation, Crown Counsel, Commercial, Environment & Native Title and Business Services sections. The CSO provides advice to, and represents, the Government on behalf of the Attorney-General. This includes providing legal services to Cabinet, Ministers and Government agencies on a wide variety of legal issues.  Lucinda started in the role in January 2025.

Adam Kilvert

Adam is the Executive Director for the Policy and Community division, including Justice Policy and Analytics and Strategic Communications, which provide advice and support to the Attorney-General and the broader department. The division also consists of the offices of the Ombudsman, Public Advocate, Public Trustee, the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity, the Director of the Office for Public Integrity, and the Commissioner for Victims' Rights, which aim to protect the rights of the public.

Andrew Swanson

Andrew is the Executive Director of the Finance, People and Performance division. He is the Chief Financial Officer and responsible for leading a range of corporate functions including Financial Services, Human Resources, Facilities and Performance and Business Services. The division also includes Forensic Science SA and the Small Business Commission SA.

Brett Humphrey

Brett is the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs and Liquor and Gambling within Consumer and Business Services (CBS). CBS has a broad portfolio including consumer protection, product safety, occupational licensing, liquor licensing, gambling regulation, charities regulation, residential tenancies, births, deaths and marriages and Justice of the Peace services. Brett started the role in January 2025.

Glenn Farrell

Glenn Farrell is the Executive Director of SafeWork SA (SWSA). SWSA is South Australia's workplace health and safety regulator and is responsible for providing work health and safety, public safety and state-based industrial relations services. In addition, SWSA enforces work health and safety laws in South Australia and is accountable to the Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector.

John Doherty

John is the Director, Forensic Science SA (FSSA). FSSA provides independent scientific and pathology services to the justice system of South Australia in the disciplines of Biology, Chemistry, Pathology and Toxicology. FSSA collaborates closely with the tertiary sector, particularly the three local universities, to ensure it maintains a high quality and contemporary scientific service through research, training and teaching.

Matt Smith

Matt Smith is the Executive Director of the Projects and Technology division. He is responsible for leading Technology, Project Delivery, Public Safety and Information Management services. In addition to supporting the operations of AGD, the division provides Public Safety and Justice Information services to more than twenty other Government agencies.

Nerida Saunders PSM

Nerida is the Executive Director of the Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation division (AAR) of the department. She is responsible for providing engagement, support and advice for Aboriginal people and government. In addition, AAR works with Aboriginal South Australians to ensure that the needs of Aboriginal people and communities are met, including in areas of identified disadvantage, as well as those of strength.

Steph Halliday

Steph is the Executive Director of Legal and Legislative Services. The division includes Legislative Services, who provide legal and policy advice on legislative reform, Parliamentary Counsel, the CSO, the ODPP, Industrial Relations and Policy (IRAP), the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT), South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET) and the State Redress Response Unit. Steph brings a diverse range of justice sector knowledge to the role, with expertise spanning public, regulatory and criminal law, and government policy.

Tony Brumfield

Tony Brumfield was appointed the Public Trustee in July 2024. The Public Trustee is responsible for the efficient management of the Public Trustee Office and the effective implementation of the Public Trustee Act 1995. The role includes acting as Administrator, Executor or Trustee of deceased estates, as Administrator of estates of protected persons under the Guardianship and Administration Act 1993, as Manager of estates of protected persons under the Aged and Infirm Persons’ Property Act 1940 and as Attorney or Agent.

* Denotes Act of limited application