Last updated on 18 August 2026.
This is a living article. It carries only DATED obligations: things with a deadline you can put in a diary. Instruments that are still in motion, with no fixed date, live in the companion article "In Progress Now". When a draft acquires a date, it moves here.
In brief
Most compliance failures are not decisions. They are dates that passed while nobody was looking. This page carries every dated South African occupational health and safety obligation we are currently tracking, what happens if you miss it, and how far away it is. It is deliberately short. If a date is not on this page, it is either already behind us or not yet fixed, and the instruments still awaiting a date are tracked separately in our In Progress Now article.
The dates
06 September 2026: two regulations are repealed
What happens. The Environmental Regulations for Workplaces, 1987 and the Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Regulations, 2003 are repealed in their entirety. The Physical Agents Regulations, 2024 and the Noise Exposure Regulations, 2024 stand alone from that day. [1][2][3]
Why the date is fixed. Both new instruments were gazetted on 06 March 2025 (Government Gazette 52226). Regulation 21 of the Physical Agents Regulations and regulation 18 of the Noise Exposure Regulations each repeal their predecessor 18 months after promulgation. Eighteen months from 06 March 2025 is 06 September 2026. [1][2]
What you must have. A documented risk assessment by a competent person, refreshed at least every two years. Exposure monitoring where limits are approached or exceeded, and for noise that monitoring must be done by an approved noise inspection authority. Medical screening and surveillance overseen by an Occupational Medicine Practitioner, with written informed consent. Audiometry under the Code of Practice for Audiometry. Annual refresher training, not once-off. Records kept for forty years. [2]
Who it reaches. Wider than the name suggests. A physical agent is a source of energy that may cause injury or disease after exposure, and expressly includes heat, cold, vibration, illumination and non-ionising radiation, with indoor air quality also covered. Warehousing, manufacturing, construction, hospitality and most office environments are in scope. [1][2]
Open point. It is not settled whether both sets of regulations apply concurrently until the date, or whether the new ones only take effect on it. The prudent course, and the one advised, is to implement now rather than wait for the answer. [2]
01 April to 30 June, every year: the COIDA Return of Earnings
What happens. The Return of Earnings season runs 01 April to 30 June. Late submission carries an automatic 10 percent penalty plus monthly interest, and the Letter of Good Standing lapses until the submission and payment are brought current. [4][5]
Status for 2026. Closed. An employer that missed 30 June 2026 should file now rather than wait for the next season, because the Letter of Good Standing does not restore itself. [4][5]
Next occurrence. 01 April 2027.
Within 7 days of an incident: report the injury
What happens. Under the COIDA amendments in force from 01 February 2026, failing to report an injury or accident within 7 days carries a penalty equal to the full compensation amount. [6]
Why it belongs on a calendar. It is the only deadline on this page that starts when something goes wrong, rather than on a fixed date. That makes it the easiest one to miss, because the clock starts on your worst day.
08 September 2026: the ISO 45001 draft ballot closes
What happens. The Draft International Standard ballot for ISO 45001:2027 closes. [7][8] Nothing is required of an employer on this date. It matters because after it, the shape of the revised standard is effectively settled, and certified organisations can plan the transition against a stable target. Publication is expected in mid 2027, with a three-year transition after that. [7][8]
GRC Shop view
Look at the shape of this page rather than the individual entries. Two of the four dates are recurring cycles, one starts on an incident, and one is a hard cutover. Not one of them is a decision an owner forgets to make. They are all dates that arrive whether or not anyone is watching for them.
That is the argument for a live compliance record in one sentence. A folder does not know what month it is. A system does.
Of the four, the 06 September 2026 cutover is the one we would act on first, because it is the only one that changes what evidence you must be able to produce, and because it is close.
We will keep this page current as dates are added, met or moved. Where an instrument is proposed but not yet dated, it stays in In Progress Now until it has a date.
If you want these dates tracked against your own registers rather than a page you have to remember to re-read: https://www.grcshop.co.za/get-a-quote
Abbreviations
- COIDA: Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act
- DIS: Draft International Standard
- ISO: International Organization for Standardization
- OHS: Occupational Health and Safety
- OMP: Occupational Medicine Practitioner
- ROE: Return of Earnings
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, "South Africa: OHASA, Physical Agents Regulations 2024, Noise Exposure Regulations 2024, and Amendment of the General Safety Regulations 2025", 11 Mar 2025. https://www.ensafrica.com/news/detail/9836/south-africa-occupational-health-and-safety-a
[2] 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
[3] South African Government, "Occupational Health and Safety Act: Noise Exposure Regulations 2024 and Code of Practice for Audiometry, Government Gazette 52226", 06 Mar 2025. https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202503/52226gon5953.pdf
[4] ClearComply, "COIDA Return of Earnings 2026: deadline guide", 2026. https://www.clearcomply.co.za/blog/coida-return-of-earnings-deadline-south-africa
[5] Company Partners, "COIDA Return of Earnings 2026 Deadline Explained", 2026. https://companypartners.co.za/coida-return-of-earnings-2026-deadline/
[6] SEESA, "COID Return of Earnings Deadline: What Employers Must Do Before 30 June 2026", 2026. https://www.seesa.co.za/blog/coid-return-of-earnings-deadline-2026/
[7] 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/
[8] DNV, "Draft Version of ISO 45001:2027 Released", 2026. https://www.dnv.com/news/2026/draft-version-of-iso-45001-released/