Dear Clients,
If there is one thing July has reminded us, it is that regulatory activity does not need to be dramatic to keep everyone busy.
There were no major foodstuffs or agricultural legislative developments this month — which, in regulatory terms, is probably the closest thing to a holiday. Elsewhere, however, the wheels continued to turn.
On the environmental side, dust remains firmly on the agenda. The National Dust Control Regulations are now in operation, and the newly published condonation period gives affected stakeholders some breathing room to submit or finalise their Dust Management Plans. The message is therefore fairly straightforward: if your operation generates dust, now would be a good time to make sure your paperwork is generating something other than dust.
The railway safety framework is also moving forward, with several sets of draft regulations published for comment. At the same time, confirmation that the existing regulations and notices remain in force provides some welcome continuity while the new framework develops. In other words, the regulatory train is moving — but fortunately, nobody has removed the existing tracks just yet.
The employment equity space also saw movement, with the Draft Reviewed Code of Good Practice on the preparation and implementation of Employment Equity Plans being released. For employers, this is another reminder that compliance is not simply about having the right document somewhere in a filing system; the process behind the document matters too.
Then there are the municipalities, which appear to have decided that July was an excellent month for housekeeping. A substantial number of new, amended or replacement by-laws were published covering health services, stormwater, fire services, waste management, noise and nuisances, traffic, electricity, water services, zoning and the keeping of animals. The practical lesson is that municipal compliance should not be treated as a “set it and forget it” exercise. Local rules change — sometimes quietly, and usually without waiting for anyone to notice.
Finally, the standards world remained busy, particularly in relation to wind energy, machinery, hazardous locations and equipment used in explosive atmospheres. For businesses operating in these areas, the publication of draft and proposed amended standards is another reason to keep technical and compliance teams talking to each other.
So, what should businesses take away from July?
Keep your dust plans in order, keep an eye on the railway, check your municipal by-laws, watch the employment equity developments, and don’t ignore the standards sitting in the “draft” category.
July did not bring a regulatory earthquake. It brought something arguably more familiar: a steady accumulation of small changes that, taken together, can become quite important.
And perhaps the most encouraging news of all: the foodstuffs legislation left us alone for a month. Let’s not ask too many questions.
To see the legislation in detail you can download the newsletter with the link or read it below.
NATIONAL LEGISLATION
ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
1) Biodiversity Act
- Consultation on Draft Guidelines for the Management of Damage-causing Animals in South Africa
The Minister released draft guidelines for public comment.
2) National Environmental Management Act
General Notice of Condonation for the Late Submission of Dust Management Plans by Identified Stakeholders as required in terms of the National Dust Control Regulations. The latter came into force on 31 March 2026, but a six-month condonation period from 31 July 2026 within which to submit Dust Management Plans for approval and/or finalise the approval process in terms of the Regulations, was now published.
Persons identified by the Regulations are:
- a) any holder of a right or permit related to a prospecting, exploration, mining, or production operation, as defined in section 1 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002;
- b) any person conducting reclamation;
- c) any person conducting a listed activity and who is required in terms of the provisional or atmospheric emission licence to develop a dust management plan;
- d) any person conducting a controlled emitter that has the potential to generate dust; and
- e) any person conducting an activity that an air quality officer reasonably suspects is causing or has the potential to cause nuisance by dust.
HEALTH AND SAFETY LEGISLATION
3) Railway Safety Act
The following draft Regulations were released for comment:
- Draft Railway Safety Standards Development Regulations
- Draft National Railway Safety Permit Regulations
- Draft Regulations Regarding Railway Occurrences to be Reported to the Railway Safety Regulator
- Draft Penalty Fee Regulations.
Besides this, a confirmation was released that all regulations and notices issued under the previous railway safety legislative framework remain in force. The confirmation is in terms of section 69(2) of the Act and provides continuity of the existing regulatory regime pending any future amendment, replacement, or repeal of such regulations and notices. The continued legal operation and enforceability of all regulations and notices contemplated in section 69(3) is also confirmed thereby ensuring uninterrupted administration and oversight of railway safety.
4) National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act
An amendment Bill was published for comment.
FOODSTUFFS AND AGRICULTURAL LEGISLATION
No legislation dealing with this topic was passed this month.
LABOUR LEGISLATION
5) Employment Equity Act
The Department released the Draft Reviewed Code of Good Practice on the Preparation and Implementation of the Employment Equity Plan.
PROVINCIAL LEGISLATION
6) Western Cape Land Use Amendment Act
This amends the Western Cape Land Use Planning Act, 3 of 2014.
No relevant provincial legislation was passed this month by the other provinces.
MUNICIPAL LEGISLATION
7) Msunduzi Local Municipality
The following changes were made by the municipality:
- New Municipal Health Services By-laws were published and the 2015 Public Health By-laws were repealed
- Stormwater Management By-laws were published.
8) Madibeng Local Municipality
Fire Services By-laws were published.
9) Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality
The municipality published the following:
- Draft Review Waste Management By-law for public comment.
- Fire By-laws for implementation.
10) Lekwa Local Municipality
The municipality introduced the:
- Integrated Waste Management By-law
- By-law Relating to Streets, Public Places and the Prevention of Noise Disturbance and Noise Nuisance.
11) City of Cape Town
The Traffic By-law was amended.
12) Witzenberg Local Municipality
The 2004 Electricity Supply By-law was repealed and replaced by a new one.
13) Capricorn District Municipality
A new Water Services By-law was published thereby replacing the 2008 by-law.
14) George Local Municipality
The municipality amended the Integrated Zoning Scheme By-law.
15) Newcastle Local Municipality
Electricity Supply By-laws were passed.
16) Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality
Among others, the following were published:
- Solid Waste Disposal By-law and previous by-laws repealed
- Prevention of Public Nuisances and Keeping of Animals By-law and previous by-laws repealed
- Draft Stormwater Management By-laws
- Electricity Supply By-law and PN 537 of 1988 repealed.
SANS AND OTHER STANDARDS
The following draft standards were published for comment:
- SANS 61400-21-1:20xx Ed 1 Wind energy generation systems – Part 21-1 – Measurement and assessment of electrical characteristics – Wind turbines.
Includes definition and specification of the quantities to be determined for characterizing the electrical characteristics of a grid-connected wind turbine,measurement procedures for quantifying the electrical characteristics,procedures for assessing compliance with electrical connection requirements, including estimation of the power quality expected from the wind turbine type when deployed at a specific site.
- SANS 61400-21-2:20xx Ed 1 Wind energy generation systems – Part 21-2 – Measurement and assessment of electrical characteristics – Wind power plants.
Defines and specifies the quantities that are determined to characterize the electrical characteristics of grid-connected power plants (PPs).
- SANS 61400-23:20xx Ed 1 Wind turbines – Part 23 – Full-scale structural testing of rotor blades.
Defines the requirements for full-scale structural testing of wind turbine blades and for the interpretation and evaluation of achieved test results. 2026-09-16 SANS 61400-25-3:XXXX Ed 2 Wind turbines – Part 25-3: Communications for monitoring and control of wind power plants – Information exchange models. Specifies an abstract communication service interface describing the information exchange between a client and a server for data access and retrieval,device control,event reporting and logging,self-description of devices (device data dictionary),data typing and discovery of data types.
- Safety of machinery – Electrical equipment of machines Part 32: Requirements for hoisting machines.
Applies to the application of electrical and electronic equipment and systems to hoisting machines and related equipment.
The following proposed amendments to existing standards were published:
- SANS 10086-1: XXXX Ed 4.3 – The installation, inspection and maintenance of equipment used in explosive atmospheres Part 1: Installations including surface installations on mines.
- SANS 10086-2: XXXX Ed 2.1 – The installation, inspection and maintenance of equipment used in explosive atmospheres Part 2: Electrical equipment installed underground in mines.
- SANS 10086-3: XXXX Ed 2.3 – The installation, inspection and maintenance of equipment used in explosive atmospheres Part 3: Repair and overhaul of equipment.
- SANS 10108:20XX Ed 7.1 – The classification of hazardous locations and the selection of equipment for use in such locations.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
Kind regards
MARK DITTKE