South Australia Police Assistant Commissioner John Venditto will retire effective June 30, 2026, after a year-long paid absence from public duties. Commissioner Grant Stevens says SAPOL will soon begin the process to replace him.

South Australia Police Assistant Commissioner John Venditto has elected to retire, with his departure to take effect on June 30, 2026.

Commissioner Grant Stevens said Venditto had been on leave and was retiring after 42 years with SAPOL. He said a selection process to replace him will begin soon.

Venditto had been absent from public duties on full pay since May 2025. The reasons for that absence were not publicly disclosed, with reporting citing South Australia’s secrecy laws.

Timeline

Venditto was promoted to assistant commissioner in March 2022. Before that, he managed SAPOL’s Security and Emergency Management Co-ordination Branch, including the counter-terrorism portfolio.

The retirement notice comes as SAPOL prepares to fill a senior leadership vacancy in a force that oversees sensitive investigative and security functions.

What happens next

SAPOL is expected to launch a process to select Venditto’s successor. No replacement has been named, and it remains unclear whether any further administrative or legal steps will follow his retirement.

Revision note

Initial automated publication.