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OHS: New Regulations gazetted
- 25 March 2025
- Regulatory Compliance and Legislation
- South African Accounting Academy
Summary:
The Department of Employment & Labour (DoL) has gazetted 3 sets of secondary legislation as new Regulations under the 1993 Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Act.
Article:
As of March 2025, South Africa's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) legislation is undergoing amendments and new regulations, with a focus on enhancing worker protections, empowering employees, and improving workplace safety through initiatives like the OHS Prevention Accord.
The following secondary legislation has been gazetted:
- Physical Agents Regulations, with explanatory notes (repealing the October 1987 regulations in 18 months’ time)
- Noise Exposure Regulations, with explanatory notes and an audiometry code of practice (repealing the March 2003 regulations in 18 months’ time), and
- Amendments to the General Safety Regulations (dealing with housekeeping, flooding precautions, and fire precautions and means of egress). A means of egress is a system of pathways designed to ensure safe and efficient evacuation of a building in case of an emergency, particularly a fire, and encompasses exit access, the exit itself, and the exit discharge.
The aim of the OHS Act is to provide for the safety and health of persons at work and in connection with the use of plant and machinery. It further provides for the protection of people other than people at work from hazards arising out of or in connection with the activities from people at work.
Access the new OHS Regulations at https://www.labour.gov.za/promulgated-regulations-2025
Click here to download the 3 new Regulations documents:
- Physical Agents Regulations: https://18a66295-3a0f-41fb-a13d-9849edd3b2a3.usrfiles.com/ugd/18a662_1e1ff06c2c534957bda90b8b706730cd.pdf
- Noise Exposure Regulations: https://18a66295-3a0f-41fb-a13d-9849edd3b2a3.usrfiles.com/ugd/18a662_ab4478618f5a4f59ad5f6da1ca418840.pdf
- Amendments to the General Safety Regulations: https://18a66295-3a0f-41fb-a13d-9849edd3b2a3.usrfiles.com/ugd/18a662_51ec9514f20346c7b78589e47698ca4c.pdf
Relevance to Auditors, Independent Reviewers & Accountants:
- The OHS Act is yet another piece of legislation that your clients must comply with, and which you must assess compliance with. If they don’t comply with the relevant laws and regulations, you have certain reporting obligations in terms of NOCLAR (NOn-Compliance with Laws And Regulations) – this could include reporting to management, qualifying your audit opinion, reporting a Reportable Irregularity, etc.
- As an employer, you also need to comply with OHS in your own workplace.
Relevance to Your Clients:
- Employers and employees, and all other roleplayers should comply with and understand the importance of OHS in the workplace, incorporating their rights, obligations and responsibilities.