Statutory appointments under the OHS Act: what is actually required

Appointments are not one thing

There is no single list of OHS appointments in one place. Section 16 of the Act creates a duty on the chief executive officer and a power to assign it. Beyond that, individual regulations create their own appointments with their own triggers, and those triggers have nothing to do with each other. A workplace can need a supervisor of machinery and no health and safety representatives, or the reverse.

What follows is the set that applies to most South African general industry workplaces, with the exact provision each one comes from.

The appointments, and where each one comes from

Note the column on the right. Some of these must be in writing because the provision says so. Others are written because writing is the only practical way to prove the appointment happened.

The one most often missed in general industry

General Machinery Regulation 2(1) requires an employer or user of machinery to designate, in writing, a person in a full time capacity in respect of every premises on or in which machinery is being used. There is no headcount trigger at all. The trigger is machinery.

Competency escalates with installed power. For 1 200 kW to 3 000 kW the person must fall into paragraphs (b), (c) or (d) of the competent person definition, and at 3 000 kW or more into paragraphs (c) or (d). For premises generating or distributing electricity the thresholds are expressed in kVA: up to 3 000 kVA a paragraph (a) competent person registered as an installation electrician, 3 000 kVA to 10 000 kVA paragraphs (b), (c) or (d), and 10 000 kVA and above paragraphs (c) or (d).

Under regulation 2(9), where the appointee falls under regulation 2(4)(a), 2(5)(b) or 2(5)(c), the employer must forthwith forward a copy of the letter of appointment to the divisional inspector. That letter is not just an internal record.

What a defensible appointment letter contains

The Act does not prescribe a form. Reading section 16(2), section 17(1), General Machinery Regulation 2(1) and General Administrative Regulation 9(2) together, a letter that holds up records: the name and identity number of the appointee, the exact statutory provision the appointment is made under, the workplace or section it covers, the specific duties or functions assigned, the resources and authority given to discharge them, the period of the appointment, the date, and signatures from both the appointing person and the appointee accepting it.

The acceptance signature is the part people skip and the part that matters. An appointment the appointee never accepted is difficult to rely on, and section 37(1)(c) requires the employer to prove that all reasonable steps were taken, where merely issuing instructions is expressly not enough.

How long an appointment lasts

There is no general statutory expiry date on an OHS Act appointment. Section 17(1) designations are made for a specified period, so the period is whatever the designation sets, informed by the agreement negotiated under General Administrative Regulation 6. General Machinery Regulation 2 appointments have no statutory expiry, although regulation 2(12) allows machinery to operate without the required level of supervision for a period not exceeding one month in any continuous period of six months where unforeseen circumstances arise, with a paragraph (a) competent person supervising in the interim.

In substance, every appointment lapses when the appointee leaves the role, the workplace changes, or the underlying risk profile changes. Reviewing appointments annually and on any organisational change is a sound control. It is not a statutory deadline, and it should not be described as one.

Questions about OHS appointments

Does a 16.2 appointment have to be in writing?

Section 16(2) does not use the words in writing. It says a chief executive officer may assign any duty contemplated in section 16(1) to any person under their control, and that person then acts subject to the CEO control and directions. Writing is the ordinary way of proving the assignment happened, what its scope was, and that the appointee accepted it, and that evidence goes directly to the section 37(1)(c) defence. So it is accurate to call writing strongly advisable and evidentially important, and inaccurate to call it an express requirement of that subsection. Section 17(1) and General Machinery Regulation 2(1) do expressly require writing.

Does appointing someone transfer the employer liability?

No. Section 16(3) states that section 16(1) does not, subject to section 37, relieve an employer of any responsibility or liability under the Act. Appointments distribute the work of compliance, not the legal duty. Section 37 also makes the employer presumptively liable for what an employee or mandatary does, unless the employer proves it did not connive at or permit the act, that it fell outside the scope of that person authority in any circumstance, and that all reasonable steps were taken to prevent it.

How long is an OHS appointment valid for?

The OHS Act sets no general validity period. Health and safety representative designations are made for a specified period under section 17(1), and that period comes from the designation and the agreement reached under General Administrative Regulation 6. Other appointments run until they are withdrawn or the appointee leaves the role. A commonly quoted fixed term of two or three years is a management practice or an agreed term, not a figure taken from the Act.

Do I need a supervisor of machinery if I only have an office?

General Machinery Regulation 2(1) is triggered by machinery being used on or in the premises, not by headcount or by industry. Whether an ordinary office triggers it depends on what machinery is present and how the term is applied to your premises, so it should be assessed against the regulation and the competent person definition rather than assumed either way. Where it does apply, the designation must be in writing and in a full time capacity.

This guide is general information about published law, stated as at August 2026. It is not legal advice and GRC Shop is not a law firm. Confirm any provision against the current Act or gazetted regulation before acting.