The proceeds of a fine imposed on the South Australian police force over the "tragic" workplace death of a woman who was trapped in a freezer will be used to boost the work of SafeWork SA, the government says.
Lawyers representing the SA Police Force at the employment tribunal have indicated a guilty plea will be entered over the death of cook and cleaner Debra Summers in 2016.
Police face a fine of up to $1.5 million for breaching health and safety laws and Treasurer Rob Lucas says rather than the money going into government revenue, it will go directly toward improving SafeWork SA's investigative processes.
"Normally, any fine imposed under the act would come straight to treasury into consolidated accounts," said Mr Lucas on Monady.
"However, in this case, it's my intention to instruct Treasury to set aside any penalty payable as a result of this case and ensure it is used wholly to improve SafeWork SA investigation processes.
"It's imperative that we have a highly functioning and productive independent regulator in SafeWork SA."
At the time of her death, Ms Summers was employed at a police training centre.
The force has been charged with breaching health and safety laws in exposing her to risk of death or serious injury.
The Planning, Transport and Infrastructure Department has also been charged with breaching health and safety regulations as the organisation responsible for managing and maintaining the training facility.
When the charged were laid, SafeWork SA executive director Martyn Campbell said a number of failures had led to the death of Ms Summers.
"It is critical that workplace hazards are identified, recorded and dealt with to ensure the likelihood of injury is eliminated or controlled to an acceptable level," he said.
"Even seemingly simple things like regular maintenance or a buddy system so people do not work alone can make all the difference at a workplace."
