Health Protection and Licensing Services

What we do in Health Protection and Licensing Services

SA Health’s Health Protection and Licensing Services works to protect and promote the public health and wellbeing of all South Australians.

We achieve this through developing and administering public health legislation on behalf of the Minister for Health and Wellbeing and the Department for Health and Wellbeing. We provide authoritative high-level advice on public health issues and work in partnership with Local Government, other government agencies, business, non-government organisations and the community to protect the health of South Australians.

We make an important contribution to the conditions and environments that keep people safe and healthy, enhance quality of life, and significantly reduce the need for treatment and the anguish caused by illness and injury. Importantly, in protecting and promoting public health and wellbeing, we also contribute to the economic wellbeing of South Australia.

Who we are

Health Protection and Licensing Services consists of the:

• Clinical Regulation Branch
• COVID-19 Management and Compliance Branch
• Food Safety and Regulation Branch
• Health Protection Branch
• Scientific Services Branch
• Office of Health Protection and Licensing Services

Clinical Regulation Branch

The Clinical Regulation Branch regulates and monitors prescribed drugs of dependence to allow patients to access appropriate treatment while minimising the potential harms associated with drug dependence, misuse, and diversion. The branch also licences private hospitals, day procedure centres and ambulance services.

The branch consists of the Health Licensing Unit, the Drugs of Dependence Unit, and the ScriptCheckSA Unit.

The Health Licensing Unit administers delegated provisions of the Health Care Act 2008 and Health Care Regulations 2008 to license:

• private hospitals
• private day procedure centres
• private ambulance services.

The Drugs of Dependence Unit administers delegated provisions of the Controlled Substances Act 1984, Controlled Substances (Poisons) Regulations 2011, and the Code of Practice for the Storage and Transport of Drugs of Dependence 2012 to minimise the potential public health harms and costs associated with dependence, misuse, and diversion of prescribed drugs.  On behalf of the Minister, DDU is delegated to

• authorise doctors to legally prescribe drugs of dependence to patients for regular use
• monitor prescription and dispensing of monitored drugs, including through the maintenance and operation of ScriptCheckSA
• regulate inappropriate prescription, supply, transport and storage of drugs of dependence
• monitor and limit the supply of potentially harmful prescribed drugs to persons who have a history of consuming drugs in a risky manner, or who seek to obtain drugs by fraudulent or unlawful means, or for unlawful purposes.

COVID-19 Management and Compliance Branch

The COVID Management and Compliance Branch works to deliver, implement, manage, monitor, enforce and review effective COVID-19 assessment and management approaches. The branch consists of the COVID Management Plan team, and the COVID compliance team.

• the COVID Management Plan team works with event organisers for activities of more than 1,000 people to support them through the COVID Management Plan (CMP) application and approval process.
• the COVID Compliance team undertakes COVID compliance monitoring of metropolitan Adelaide businesses under the Emergency Management (Public Activities) Direction.

Food Safety and Regulation Branch

The Food Safety and Regulation Branch protects the public from preventable health risks associated with the consumption of unsafe food. Officers in Food Safety and Regulation work together with other state/territory and bi-national government agencies, and local councils to ensure:

• food for sale in South Australia is safe and suitable
• consistency and integration of the bi-national food regulation system with New Zealand.

The Branch works to protect the public from preventable health risks by administering the Food Act 2001 and associated regulations and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.  The Branch

• monitors and enforces compliance with the Food Act 2001 (SA), the Food Regulations 2017 (SA), the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, and the Public Health (Notifiable Contaminants) Regulations 2020 (SA)
• engages in food surveys and sampling to inform national and state policies
• supports, advises and works with local government on consistency and workforce development
• develops and implements bi-national and state food policy and law
• educates regulators, food businesses, consumers, students and other interested parties about food safety, labelling and food standards
• investigates food poisoning incidents, notifications of notifiable contaminants and other food safety incidents and takes corrective action (such as food recalls) to protect the safety of the food supply
• approves and verifies food safety auditors
• conducts food safety audits of public hospitals, not for profit delivered meals organisations and other government agencies captured by Food Safety Standard 3.3.1 and relevant high risk business sectors captured under the Primary Production & Processing Standards
• coordinates the South Australian government’s position regarding the regulation of genetically modified organisms and genetically modified food.

Health Protection Branch

The Health Protection Branch identifies, investigates and manages environmental factors that impact on public health by

• developing public health policy, legislation, advice and programs for the management of environmentally mediated infectious disease and coordinating outbreak investigations and responses to these diseases
• supporting the implementation and administration of the South Australian Public Health Act 2011 and regulations by State and Local Government
• undertaking public health planning and direct service delivery across the Out-of-Council Areas of South Australia (remote), including Unincorporated Areas and Aboriginal Communities
• leading the state-wide enforcement of measures to control the supply and consumption of tobacco and e-cigarette products
• providing direct service delivery and coordinating Aboriginal Environmental Health programs
• develops and implements state legislation, prescribed codes, protocols, guidelines and public health policy for wastewater management, treatment, disposal and recycled water use
• manages the public health response to wastewater and recycled water incidents.

Scientific Services Branch

The Scientific Services Branch protects and enhances public health by minimising potential environmental health risks arising in homes and the environment, including from air, water, soil, hazardous substances and from climate change. The branch undertakes scientific-based health risk assessments and data analysis to provide regulatory direction and medical, scientific and technical advice on a wide variety of exposure scenarios by

• approving, monitoring and enforcing compliance of the Safe Drinking Water Act 2011
• managing water quality incidents
• issuing licences, authorities and permits and undertaking compliance activities related to licences issued under the Controlled Substances Act 1984
• seeking and undertaking appropriate and consistent regulation of chemicals
• seeking evidence-based adaptation strategies for hazards arising from climate change
• undertaking health risk assessments that inform state and private managers and the public on best practices to reduce exposure to various environmental hazards including, from recreational & drinking water, air pollution and chemicals
• providing strategic and scientific sound evidence-based advice and direction for dealing with lead exposure in Port Pirie and for the general public.

Office of Health Protection and Licensing Services

The Office of Health Protection and Licensing Services provides executive leadership and management of health protection and licensing functions across the state, high level cross service expertise and operational stewardship.

Contact

General enquires 

SA Health
PO Box 287 Rundle Mall Adelaide SA 5000

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Fax: (08) 8226 7102
Email: public.health@sa.gov.au

Clinical Regulation Branch

Drugs of Dependence Unit

Phone: 1300 652 584
Fax:  1300 658 447
Email:  HealthDrugsofDependenceUnit@sa.gov.au
Post: PO Box 6, Rundle Mall, Adelaide South Australia 5000

Health Licensing Unit

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Email: Health.licensing@sa.gov.au

ScriptCheckSA

Email: Health.RTPM@sa.gov.au
Website: www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/scriptchecksa

COVID Management and Compliance Branch

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Email (COVID Management Plan): Health.COVIDManagementPlan@sa.gov.au
Email: (COVID compliance): Health.COVIDCompliance@sa.gov.au

Food Safety and Regulation Branch

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Email: HealthFood@sa.gov.au

Health Protection Branch

Phone: (08) 8226 7100

Health Protection Programs

Policy and advice email HealthProtectionPrograms@sa.gov.au

Health Protection Operations

Out-of-Council areas & tobacco compliance email HealthProtectionOperations@sa.gov.au

Wastewater

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Incident hotline: 1300 043 215

Email: HealthWastewaterManagement@sa.gov.au

Scientific Services Branch 

Phone: (08) 8226 7100

Controlled Substances Licencing

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Fax: (08) 8226 6681
Email: HealthControlledSubstances@sa.gov.au

Drinking Water

Phone: (08) 8226 7100
Incident Hotline: 1300 558 657
Email: waterquality@sa.gov.au