The AIDS Council of South Australia has closed after being made insolvent, prompting criticism of the state government’s failure to provide more funding.

Monday night’s decision was hasty and unnecessary, says Rob Lake, executive director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations.

“The AIDS Council of SA has worked co-operatively with the State Government to regain a sustainable financial footing, only to have the rug pulled from under them,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

“This decision will affect HIV prevention for gay men in South Australia. It is unnecessary and ought to be reversed.”

But Health Minister Jack Snelling told ABC Radio the closure of the council, which opened in 1984, would not mean an end of AIDS health education programs, which will be run by other community-based agencies.

The council went into voluntary administration in June and Snelling said the administrator had proposed a $175,000 cash injection by the government.

He received advice that the money would just prop up the council for another nine months, but there would be a “significant compromise of service delivery”.

A meeting of the council’s creditors has been called by the administrators for next Tuesday.