South Australia Police

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (15:19): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Police questions regarding support for SAPOL officers. The Police Association of South Australia's 2016 member survey revealed that 54 per cent of respondents disagreed that SAPOL was an organisation that supported officers suffering psychological injury arising from work. In an article in The Advertiser dated 6 November 2016, Police Association of South Australia president, Mr Mark Carroll, said, 'Our member feedback shows reluctance to admit to a psychological injury for fear of the associated stigma.'

My questions to the minister are: given the incident on Hindley Street on 28 November, what counselling and assistance is available to those officers who may experience psychological injuries following the event, and what cultural changes are occurring within SAPOL to ensure the organisation is more supportive towards those suffering from work-related psychological injuries?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:20): I thank the Hon. Mr Stephens for his question on a very important subject. I have been advised by SAPOL that SAPOL has extensive and established practices, resources and policies in place so that all psychological injury claims made by police officers are investigated to establish the facts of each claim. Investigations can include medical assessment and evaluations by independent medical examiners in PTSD and trauma stress cases, which are well documented internally to ensure the best possible response to the respective complainant.

I am pleased to inform the Hon. Mr Stephens, and the chamber more broadly, that SAPOL has a full-time employee assistance section, which can provide ongoing advice and support in welfare and psychological services to any police officer who may be experiencing PTSD or trauma. The events earlier this week—from recollection, I believe it was Monday evening and Tuesday morning—provide a strong example of the sort of challenges, risks and threats that our men and women in uniform, as I said earlier, have to face on a regular basis. They truly do outstanding work in the pursuit of keeping our community safe. I have nothing but the utmost respect for the men and women who serve on the front lines and, indeed, all men and women who serve within the South Australian police force.

When, as a community, we ask our police officers to put themselves in harm's way, put themselves in risky situations, it is reasonable, I think, for governments and parliaments alike to do everything they can to reasonably ensure the preservation or the safety of those men and women. They work in risky environments. Not all risk can be mitigated, but to the extent that we can do everything that we can to ensure that SAPOL is well resourced and has all the tools at its disposal to be able to deal with and mitigate immediate risks—like the situation that unfolded in Hindley Street on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, like those instances—we need to be doing everything we can.

I think, by and large, that is something that has been achieved up until this point, notwithstanding the fact that there will always be room for improvement. By and large, our police force is incredibly well resourced, but outside of individual incidents, where extraordinary deeds take place, it is also true—as the Hon. Mr Stephens' question alludes to—and important that we do everything we can to support our officers behind the scenes. I think, as society has recently become increasingly aware, post-traumatic stress disorder is a genuine issue. It is a real-life issue.

We have seen men and women from a whole range of different fields within the emergency services sector, and also through the Australian Defence Force, present cases in recent times and publicly have the courage to speak out around how PTSD has affected them. That hasn't always been easy. It is not always easy for someone suffering from such a condition, particularly from a sector that often is associated with terms like 'bravery' and 'courage', to talk about these things, although that is, of course, one of the most courageous acts of all. Recently, I think the community has become more aware of the issues that PTSD presents.

So, SAPOL is not immune. It is important that SAPOL—as this challenge progresses and the degree of awareness increases and more cases present themselves—is doing everything it can to be able to take on this rather substantial challenge. There was a Four Corners report, I note, earlier this year (which was compelling viewing for those people interested in policing in Australia), looking at instances, by and large interstate, where members of the police force were talking about their experience with PTSD.

It is absolutely critical that we have the policies and procedures in place to ensure that when our men and women in uniform present with such an instance, they are able to receive access to services that will help them deal with what is a genuine medical condition. More than that, it is also fundamentally important that the culture of our emergency services organisations, including the South Australian police force, allows itself to welcome those people who are suffering from PTSD, or who may potentially suffer from PTSD, to come forward and speak up so that they can access the services they need.