Construction & Engineering
Tragedy strikes Durban construction site: One dead, four injured in structural collapse
25 Jun 2025
The battle of clarity: Construction safety regulations fall short, say industry experts
Retiling your bathroom or repairing a wall after storm damage could soon require notifying the Department of Labour seven days in advance — or risk facing legal action. That’s one of the more controversial proposals in the newly published Draft Construction Regulations, which recently closed for public comment.
Source: Supplied. Adv. Hendrik Terblanche, Managing Director of Legricon Legal Risk and Compliance Consultants.
While the draft regulations aim to improve safety standards in the construction industry, critics say they could instead impose burdensome red tape on even the smallest building projects, with unclear requirements and vague definitions creating confusion rather than clarity.
According to Adv. Hendrik Terblanche, Managing Director of Legricon Legal Risk and Compliance Consultants — who regularly advises the Master Builders Association North (MBA North) — the updated regulations are a step in the right direction, but several grey areas remain.
“Many of the changes in the new draft have been introduced in a bid to clarify questions and grey areas in the 2014 regulations, and to align with other legislative changes. These have been generally welcomed by stakeholders. However, there are a number of contentious issues and grey areas,” he says.
Competency confusion One of the most debated changes is the definition of a ‘competent person’ — a requirement for key site roles including construction manager, supervisor, and health and safety officers.
Terblanche argues that the draft places too much emphasis on formal training and qualifications, rather than practical ability. He explains that the shift from SETAs to the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) has led to uncertainty, particularly around short courses that don't result in formal qualifications.
“My main view is that the current definition places a lot of emphasis on the inputs into competency – training and qualifications – whereas competency is an outcome, and may be acquired through decades of experience. Many people have all the necessary qualifications and training, but they're still not competent, and are not able to deliver the required outcomes.”
Impact on SMEs
He adds that this creates challenges for SMEs and smaller contractors — the so-called bakkie builders — who may be experienced but not formally certified. Strictly interpreted, the draft regulations could render them non-compliant if they don’t have a formally qualified construction health and safety officer or manager on site.
“I don’t think regulators have the small contractors in mind when they write the regulations. They see these big buildings collapsing, and that is who they write the regulations for, and they don't always realise that it affects a lot of other people.”
Legal overload on site appointments Draft Regulation 8 outlines a cascade of required appointments, including construction managers and their assistants, supervisors, and various levels of health and safety professionals.
“That has always been a contentious issue as well,” says Terblanche.
He notes that safety professionals are now being grouped under the South African Council for the Project and Construction Management Profession (SACPCMP), the professional registration body for technical construction professionals.
“It's typically aimed at high-level technical people, people like construction managers, and project managers, but the Department of Labour decided in 2014 that if we want the safety people to also have a professional registration and therefore go through competency verification, then that is the appropriate body to put them under. This has caused a lot of teething problems and frustration over the years.”
Red tape rising
The new draft proposes three levels of safety registration under SACPCMP — from professional agents (for high-risk projects) to managers and officers. While this may ensure more oversight on large projects, Terblanche warns it introduces cost and compliance challenges for smaller players.
“Construction health and safety managers, and registered health and safety officers cost money. For the average ‘bakkie builder’, appointing a professional safety manager or officer would likely be too expensive. The current regulations say that you can have a part-time health and safety officer, but this raises questions around ‘What does part-time mean? How many days do I have to be on site?’”
Permits and practical challenges Another concern lies in construction work permits. Certain projects — typically those costing above R60m — require permits from the Department of Employment and Labour, and by extension, the appointment of a professional construction health and safety agent. But Terblanche points out that there’s no clarity on whether the cost threshold includes VAT.
He also raises concerns about using the height of a building (more than two storeys, for exampke) as a criteria for permits, noting that multiple underground levels can pose similar risks but fall outside the proposed threshold.
Everyday repairs caught in the net Perhaps the most far-reaching change is the requirement that the Department of Labour be notified seven days in advance of any construction activity — even if a permit isn’t required.
“Strictly speaking, this applies to any excavation, retiling your bathroom, or repairing a wall damaged in a storm. Ahead of any construction work for which a permit is not required, the contractor who does the construction must do the notification. This is expected to inundate the Department with notifications and could be problematic when emergency repairs are needed.”
Failing to notify could result in a contravention notice, prohibition order or even prosecution. “It adds a lot of red tape and I don't see the construction industry getting safer as a result of it.”
Balancing clarity with practicality While many in the industry appreciate the intent behind the new regulations — particularly the drive to address long-standing grey areas — Terblanche believes that unless the draft is refined, it may create more confusion than clarity, especially for smaller contractors.
He cautions that effective regulation must balance safety with practicality — and ensure that compliance is achievable across the full spectrum of the industry.