A personal care worker has been suspended from an Adelaide aged care home after three elderly male residents were allegedly assaulted in separate incidents.
South Australian Police are investigating the allegations, which involve residents aged in their 70s and 90s at Bene Aged Care Italian Village in St Agnes. Police said the three men suffered minor injuries during the alleged incidents on Tuesday, August 11. As of today, no charges have been laid and no arrests have been made.
The worker, who has not been publicly identified, is believed to be a personal care worker at the facility.
Bene said the employee was stood down immediately after the organisation became aware of the allegations and that an internal investigation is underway.
“Relevant families and authorities were informed of the allegations,” a Bene spokeswoman said. “Bene is unable to comment further on the matter while investigations are being undertaken.”
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is also investigating after the incidents were reported through the Serious Incident Response Scheme, which requires aged care providers to report certain serious incidents involving older people in their care.
The alleged incidents occurred at Bene Italian Village, a residential aged care home at 6 Mumford Avenue, St Agnes, which provides permanent and respite care as well as dementia and palliative care.
SA Police said its Eastern District detectives were investigating three alleged assaults at an aged care facility in St Agnes.
“The three victims, a man in his 90s and two men in their 70s, sustained minor injuries during the incidents,” a police spokesman said.
“No charges have been laid at this time and enquiries remain ongoing.”
The allegations are particularly concerning because of the vulnerability of the residents involved and the fact that the alleged incidents occurred within a setting where residents are dependent on staff for their day-to-day care.
Records indicate that no ambulance was called to the facility following the alleged incidents. The residents were instead seen by doctors, according to information reported by The Advertiser.
The circumstances surrounding the alleged assaults, including exactly what occurred and how the incidents were detected, have not been publicly disclosed.
The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission is investigating the matter after Bene made mandatory reports under the Serious Incident Response Scheme.
The Commission does not comment publicly on individual cases while investigations are underway.
However, its role includes assessing information about concerns relating to the safety and quality of aged care and taking regulatory action where appropriate.
The latest investigation is also significant because it follows allegations involving another staff member at the same facility last year.
In February 2025, police investigated allegations that a registered nurse had assaulted two elderly residents at Bene Italian Village.
The nurse denied wrongdoing and said she had been administering COVID-19 tests to the residents. She later resigned from Bene after being stood down while the organisation conducted an internal investigation.
Police ultimately did not charge the nurse, with prosecutors determining there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia subsequently imposed conditions on her registration, including requirements relating to mentoring and training in areas including consent to care and restraint.
The previous allegations involved a different employee and are separate from the current police investigation.
