Asked to move on in South Australia?
What the legislation that applies in South Australia says about a police direction to leave a public place — who can give one, how long it can keep you away, and what happens if you do not go.
Right now, being safe beats being right. If someone is asking you to move, you can move and challenge it later. That route keeps you out of trouble; arguing on the spot rarely does. Write down what happened as soon as you can — time, place, who, and what they said.
What the Act says
Read from the Summary Offences Act 1953 (SA), section by section.
s 18, version 4.12.2025 — In South Australia, where a person is loitering in a public place and a police officer believes or apprehends on reasonable grounds that an offence has been or is about to be committed, that a breach of the peace has occurred or is about to, that pedestrian or vehicle traffic is or is about to be obstructed, or that someone's safety is in danger, the officer may ask them to cease loitering. The person must then leave the place and the area around it. The maximum penalty is $1 250 or 3 months' imprisonment.
What this page does not tell you
Only the police power above has been read against South Australia's legislation. Whether anyone other than police — a council or government officer, a security guard or a landholder — can require you to leave is a different question under different law, and this site has not read it for South Australia — so it does not answer it. An absence here is not a finding that nobody else can ask you to go.
Other states draft this differently enough that their wording would mislead you: how the jurisdictions compare.
Wherever you are
If you have nowhere else to go tonight, that is the more urgent problem and it has its own page: the services that can help you find a bed, by state. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
Whatever a page says, the sign in front of you and the person standing there are the immediate facts. This site publishes legal information, not legal advice — it describes what the law says in general, never what you should do in your situation.
Sleeping in your car in South Australia
Where this comes from
- “Where a person is loitering in a public place or a group of persons is assembled in a public place and a police officer believes or apprehends on reasonable grounds—” “that an offence has been, or is about to be, committed by that person or by one or more of the persons in the group or by another in the vicinity; or” “that a breach of the peace has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur, in the vicinity of that person or group; or” “that the movement of pedestrians or vehicular traffic is obstructed, or is about to be obstructed, by the presence of that person or group or of others in the vicinity; or” “that the safety of a person in the vicinity is in danger,” “the officer may request that person to cease loitering, or request the persons in that group to disperse, as the case may require.” “A person of whom a request is made under subsection (1) must leave the place and the area in the vicinity of the place in which he or she was loitering or assembled in the group.” “Maximum penalty: $1 250 or imprisonment for 3 months.” — Summary Offences Act 1953, authorised version, South Australian Government — South Australian Legislation. Retrieved 12 Oct 2026 (read from a copy of the authorised version captured 9 December 2025; legislation.sa.gov.au blocks automated retrieval).