SA Pathology provides comprehensive diagnostic and clinical pathology services to South Australia's public health sector, operating from its Adelaide headquarters and numerous facilities statewide. Established in the late 1930s as the Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science (IMVS) by Sir Trent Champion de Crespigny, it was rebranded as SA Pathology in 2008 following mergers with other major hospital pathology departments. As a not-for-profit organisation, it is uniquely recognized as the only consistently "no gap, bulk billing" pathology provider in South Australia, fully covering all Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) tests for patients.
SA Pathology also houses significant research divisions, notably the Hanson Institute, which began as the Hanson Centre for Cancer Research in 1991 and expanded in 2001 to study a wide array of diseases. Profits from its services are reinvested into supporting rural communities, medical training, and vital research spanning conditions from various cancers to infectious diseases and genetic disorders.