In brief
The two years to mid 2026 changed occupational health and safety in South Africa more than any period since the OHS Act of 1993 came into force. A wave of new regulations was gazetted, the long delayed COIDA amendments finally commenced, the labour inspectorate began a tenfold expansion, and the national message shifted from holding a written policy to proving a working system. The same themes moved internationally, where psychosocial risk, mental health and the coming ISO 45001 revision are reshaping what a credible safety system looks like. For a small or medium business, the practical takeaway is simple: a binder on a shelf is no longer protection.
Background: what changed in South Africa
The regulatory wave of 2025. On 06 Mar 2025 the Minister of Employment and Labour gazetted the Physical Agents Regulations 2024, the Noise Exposure Regulations 2024, and amendments to the General Safety Regulations, in Government Gazette 52226. [1][2] The General Safety Regulations gained new duties on housekeeping, precaution against flooding, and fire precaution and means of egress, and contraventions now carry explicit criminal penalties. [2][3] The Physical Agents Regulations consolidated duties on cold, heat, vibration, radiation and illumination, and repealed the older Environmental Regulations. [1]
Construction Regulations under review. On 12 Mar 2025 the Draft Construction Regulations 2024 were gazetted for public comment, which closed on 10 Jun 2025. They are set to replace the 2014 Construction Regulations and to revise the definitions of agent, client and contractor along with health and safety officer appointment rules. [4] As at this update they remain in draft.
The COIDA amendments commenced. The Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022 was brought into operation by Proclamation 306 of 2026 from 23 Jan 2026, phased through 01 Feb and 01 Apr 2026. [5][6] It introduced inspector compliance orders that can be made orders of the Labour Court, extended cover to domestic workers for the first time, and created a statutory rehabilitation and return to work framework, with detailed regulations effective 06 Mar 2026. [5][7]
Enforcement stepped up, and is scaling. Multi departmental blitz inspections produced arrests and prohibition notices, including prohibition notices issued for poor safety standards. [8] Government confirmed a plan to grow the inspectorate from roughly 2,000 to 20,000 inspectors, with about R5 billion earmarked over the medium term and a first wave of 10,000 posts. [9][10][11] Inspection attention is widening from large industrial sites to small and even domestic employers. [5]
A shift in tone. The National OHS Conference 2026 in Boksburg, hosted by the Department of Employment and Labour with Rand Mutual Assurance and FEM, ran under the theme "Beyond compliance: prevention in practice." [12] Commentators framed 2026 as the end of paper safety, with reform pushing employers toward an evidenced management system rather than a written policy alone. [13]
Analysis: the same currents internationally
The South African direction is not isolated. The United Kingdom's Health and Safety Executive made mental health and work related stress central to its 2026 priorities, with inspections increasingly assessing psychological risk alongside physical risk. [14] The International Labour Organization has confirmed safety and health as a Fundamental Principle and Right at Work and placed psychosocial risk, now linked to more than 840,000 deaths a year, at the centre of its global strategy. [15] ISO 45001 entered revision, with publication expected in 2027 and a clear direction toward psychosocial risk, mental health, climate and digitalisation. [16][17] By June 2026 the revision had reached the Draft International Standard stage, with the DIS ballot open until 08 Sep 2026, which fixes the direction even though the detail can still move. [18] Two themes are converging worldwide: prove your system works, and manage psychosocial risk, not only physical hazards.
Practical implications for South African SMEs
The bar has moved from having documents to proving an active, dated system. With penalties that an inspector can apply directly, and far more inspectors arriving, the probability and cost of being caught unprepared have both risen. In practice an employer should be able to show, on the day of a visit, current registers, valid appointments, a live risk assessment, and a record of action taken. The housekeeping, flooding and fire egress duties are now criminal matters, so they deserve specific attention. [2][3]
GRC Shop view
We read the past 24 months as a structural shift, not a passing crackdown. The cheap insurance of the past, a policy document nobody reads, no longer survives contact with an inspector who can fine you on the spot. We also expect psychosocial risk to become the defining new compliance theme of the next few years, because every major international reference point is moving that way at once. This paragraph is our interpretation, offered as commentary rather than a statement of law.
This is exactly the problem the GRC Shop platform is built for. The OHS app, the first app on the platform, replaces the binder with one managed, live compliance record: living registers, automatically generated and tracked appointment letters, renewal reminders before things expire, and an inspection ready evidence trail that shows not just that you have a policy, but that your system is working and current. If the last two years have made one thing clear, it is that being able to prove it is now the whole game.
Get a quote at https://www.grcshop.co.za/get-a-quote and see how quickly your business can be inspection ready.
Abbreviations
- COIDA: Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act
- DEL: Department of Employment and Labour
- EU: European Union
- FEM: Federated Employers Mutual Assurance
- GSR: General Safety Regulations
- HSE: Health and Safety Executive (United Kingdom)
- ILO: International Labour Organization
- ISO: International Organization for Standardization
- OHS: Occupational Health and Safety
- OHS Act: Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993
- SME: small and medium enterprise
References
The sources below are external links to third party websites. We link only to publicly accessible pages and check periodically that the links still work.
[1] ENSafrica, "Physical Agents Regulations 2024, Noise Exposure Regulations 2024, and Amendment of the General Safety Regulations 2025", Mar 2025. https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/9836/south-africa-occupational-health-and-safety-a
[2] Lexology / ENSafrica, "Amendment of the General Safety Regulations 2025", Mar 2025. https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=0d2b60e8-9422-4c93-a8b4-c0f3834ded1a
[3] Webber Wentzel, "Recent Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act, New Regulations", 2025. https://www.webberwentzel.com/News/Pages/recent-amendments-to-the-occupational-health-and-safety-act-new-regulations.aspx
[4] ENSafrica, "OHASA: Public Comments on the Draft Construction Regulations 2024", Mar 2025. https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/9938/south-africa-occupational-health-and-safety-a
[5] Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, "COIDA Amendments now in force: A new era for workplace injury compensation", 12 Mar 2026. https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Employment-Law/employment-law-alert-12-march-2026-coida-amendments-now-in-force-a-new-era-for-workplace-injury-compensation-in-south-africa
[6] Bowmans, "South Africa: The COIDA, Key amendments come into effect", 2026. https://bowmanslaw.com/insights/south-africa-the-coida-key-amendments-come-into-effect/
[7] Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr, "New COIDA Regulations now published: Rehabilitation Framework takes shape", 12 Mar 2026. https://www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/news/publications/2026/South-Africa/Employment-Law/employment-law-alert-12-march-new-coida-regulations-now-published-rehabilitation-framework-takes-shape
[8] SAnews, "Employment and Labour blitz inspections and raids yield results", 2026. https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/employment-and-labour-blitz-inspections-and-raids-yield-results
[9] Health and Safety International, "Three employers among 25 arrested as inspection blitz targets illegal hiring and unsafe work", 2026. https://www.healthandsafetyinternational.com/article/1943096/three-employers-among-25-arrested-inspection-blitz-targets-illegal-hiring-unsafe-work
[10] TimesLive, "Labour inspectorate: Plan is to grow team from 2,000 to 20,000", 02 Oct 2024. https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2024-10-02-labour-inspectorate-plan-is-to-grow-team-from-2000-to-20000/
[11] Xinhua, "South Africa to recruit 20,000 inspectors to crack down on non-compliance", 11 Feb 2025. https://english.news.cn/20250211/83c20213a48745719e5ef459b638f96c/c.html
[12] United Nations in South Africa, "Beyond compliance, South Africa drives workplace safety agenda", Jun 2026. https://southafrica.un.org/en/313660-beyond-compliance-south-africa-drives-workplace-safety-agenda
[13] ComplianceHub, "OHS Law in 2026: The End of Paper Safety", 2026. https://www.compliancehub.co.za/post/ohs-law-in-2026-the-end-of-paper-safety
[14] DAC Beachcroft, "HSE Annual Statistics and Report 2025: Trends and Strategic Priorities for 2026", 2026. https://www.dacbeachcroft.com/en/What-we-think/HSE-Annual-Statistics-and-Report-2025-Trends-and-Strategic-Priorities-for-2026
[15] International Labour Organization, "The ILO Global Strategy on Occupational Safety and Health and its Plan of Action", Jan 2025. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-01/OSH_Globaly_Strategy_r6.pdf
[16] Smithers, "ISO 45001 News: Preparing for the Possible 2027 Standard Revision", Jun 2026. https://www.smithers.com/resources/2026/june/iso-45001-news-possible-2027-standard-revision
[17] DQS, "Revision of ISO 45001: What will change with ISO 45001:2027", 2026. https://www.dqsglobal.com/en/explore/blog/iso-45001-revision
[18] LRQA, "ISO 45001 revision update: DIS ballot now open", Jun 2026. https://www.lrqa.com/en-au/latest-news/iso-45001-revision-update-dis-ballot-now-open/