Mandatory income management will be introduced in greater Adelaide through the rollout of spending cards for families of child protection cases.
The BasicsCard, which will be introduced on October 1, can only be used for essential items like food, rent and utilities.
They will be mandatory for cases where a child protection order has been made, but other families on welfare can also voluntarily apply for the cards.
"Drugs, alcohol, these sorts of things, that's what BasicsCard prevents," Social Services Minister Scott Morrison said in Adelaide on Friday.
"But it also ensures that ... food is on the table, that the basics of life are able to be provided for."
Mr Morrison said the decision to introduce income management in South Australia was partly in response to an inquest into the tragic death of Chloe Valentine.
Four-year-old Chloe died from head injuries in January 2012 after she was forced to ride a motorbike that she repeatedly crashed in the backyard of her Adelaide home.
A coroner ruled in April that authorities had failed to protect the girl from her manipulative, drug-addicted mother.
"(Chloe's) was such a putrid case, where the most basics of parenthood were neglected," Mr Morrison said.
"Income management can provide some safety net against those things."
But he admitted the scheme could never completely rid society of such cases.
Mr Morrison also announced federal funding of $12 million for early intervention and referral services to help keep South Australian children safe.
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