Australian Democrats leader Natasha Stott Despoja today denied she was personally to blame for her party's poor showing in the South Australian election.

Support for the Democrats dropped nine percentage points in Saturday's election and Prime Minister John Howard has suggested Senator Stott Despoja lacks the substance of her predecessor Meg Lees.

But Senator Stott Despoja blamed other factors for the fall in support and said her leadership was secure.

"I don't necessarily think the loss of votes are a consequence of me personally," she told reporters.

"We may have lost votes, we may have lost a seat, but we also sustained a very solid performance ... in the midst of a very difficult campaign."

Senator Stott Despoja said she retained the party's total support but would embark on a fullscale review of the party's direction following Saturday's election.

"I have the unanimous backing of the Democrats' party room for a strategic review," she said.

The review, to be conducted over three to six months, would assess its dismal performance in recent elections and come up with a plan for the future.

Senator Stott Despoja said the review would also look at what had fuelled a recent membership surge.

"We want to know why people are joining us, what are their aspirations, what are their particular interests, and also examine the political landscape," she said.

"It's our strategic review of where we're at now after 25 years and where we're going."

Senator Stott Despoja said her leadership was secure and strong.

"I've just been overwhelmingly endorsed by party membership," she said.

"It's not an issue."

Senator Stott Despoja said an unprecedented number of parties contesting each seat contributed to the Democrats' poor SA result.

She said it was also a rebound from the high in the wake of the State Bank collapse and Labor and Liberal disaffection over the past decade.

"We deserved to maintain that vote but we knew ... that it was always going to be hard to sustain such a high vote. That doesn't mean we shouldn't aim to," Senator Stott Despoja said.

Former Democrats leader John Coulter today criticised the leader's absence overseas during part of the campaign, saying it was peculiar.

But Senator Stott Despoja said despite her trip to the World Economic Forum in New York she spent more time in SA her home state than other party leaders.

She said the party was ambitious and would not back off contesting every seat despite a lack of resources.

"We want to be a major party but at the moment perhaps we're a major minor party," she said.

AAP