Frequently Asked Questions

Our current shelter at Lonsdale is the oldest of all the RSPCA shelters in Australia. It was built in the 1970’s and is no longer fit to care for animals. It gets cold in winter, hot in summer and maintenance of such a dated shelter is difficult and at times, impossible.

The new campus will house new, modern animal care facilities – dog suites, cat condos and pods for small pets.

There is a also gap in SA in wildlife care and specialist education There is concern around the next inevitable disaster: who and where will we treat the many native animals affected?

The new campus will include an Animal Care Centre. As well as a much- needed veterinary clinic for animals in our care, it will house South Australia’s first dedicated wildlife hospital. We will also open our doors to train the next generation of clinicians in wildlife care.

At present, RSPCA is split across locations with Inspectors and Rescue teams north of the CBD and our shelter and vets all the way at Lonsdale.

The new campus will bring together all of the teams that rescue, treat and rehabilitate animals on the one site.

RSPCA South Australia's new home and headquarters is being constructed on 7- hectares of land on the northwest corner of Main South Road and Majors Road, in O’Halloran Hill.

It is part of the Glenthorne National Park-Ityamaiitpinna Yarta community precinct.

You can find us on Google Maps by searching for ‘RSPCA-Animal-Care-Campus’ or ‘RSPCA-O’Halloran Hill’

We are hoping that our move to our new home can be completed early May and that we can open to the public at the same time – we will post updates on our website and social media.

Thanks for asking! While the main build is on the way we still have a lot to do. There are further enclosures to be erected (for wildlife); the veterinary clinic and hospital will need additional and new equipment to be fully operational. We have exercise yards and dog enrichment yards to construct and furnish – we would love to see a ‘zen’ garden for anxious dogs that may have been through trauma. And all the suites and condos still need to be furnished with the basics and some creature comforts.

The campus is a big undertaking and the project is not government funded we have had to look at a number of solutions to make it happen:

• we sold the Lonsdale property as well as our Stepney site
• we had some money donated specifically for wildlife care and a new hospital after the last bushfires on Kangaroo Island
• $1 Million contribution from the national RSPCA Australia Bushfire Appeal
• RSPCA South Australia reserves: knowing that our current facilities were sub-standard and unable to accommodate all operations on the one site, we have built up reserves over many years from our generous donors with the sole purpose of building a new, future-proof animal care campus.

Despite all efforts we knew that we would have a gap of close to $3 million.

Over the last eighteen months we have received wonderful support through our community of donors and sponsors to help bridge this gap. Yet we find ourselves still just over $800,000 short.

This is why we are urgently calling on the amazing SA community to help us raise $500,000 in five days.

You can make a donation on this site – please know that every kind gift, no matter the amount, WILL make a big difference and help us to our target.

We have naming-right opportunities to sponsor a dog-suite, cat condo or bunny pod. Just head to our home page for more.

If you are a business, we welcome sponsors and are committed to mutually beneficial partnerships.

And if you are considering volunteering – what a perfect time! We will have a range of options at our new campus from working with animals, in customer experience, administration and much more.

Donations can be made online on this site or call 1300 777 221

For sponsorship enquiries contact Marta on 0468 558 061 or Rebecca on 0422 528 636.

To enquire about volunteering please email: volunteers@rspcasa.org.au