South Australia’s new legal framework for abortion care came into effect in mid-2022. However, in 2026 there are several important elements of the model of abortion care that are not yet in place.

Despite law reform, rural, regional and remote patients are often unable to receive abortion care in their local area. They disproportionately face delays in accessing care, along with unnecessary and unfair costs and disruptions.

We need a plan to improve access and to invest in service delivery. All South Australians who need abortion care should have equitable access to this essential reproductive health service

Important practical actions for the South Australian government and SA Health include:

1. Establishing a public telehealth service for early medication abortion (EMA). This would make it possible for patients, particularly in rural, regional and remote areas, to get the care they need when they need it.
2. Information about where to access abortion outside Adelaide is not readily available. Setting up a ‘1800CHOICE’ phone service (as other states have done) will help patients have easier, more timely access to information about providers of care.
3. Ensure that public local health service networks in metro Adelaide and all the regions establish care pathways for patients at all gestations in their catchment areas.
4. Work with clinician organisations to increase the number of practitioners providing EMA for patients in the primary care system. Training and other support for GPs, Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Midwives and Aboriginal Health Practitioners will help improve equitable access to abortion care.

Abortion Care is Health Care.