A summary of what the Draft National Environmental Management Laws (Administrative Penalties) Amendment Bill, 2026 means for mining companies
Mining companies are familiar with administrative penalties (in addition to criminal sanctions) in the context of health and safety. The Mine Health and Safety Act No 29 of 1996 (MHSA), which came into force in 1997, introduced a system of administrative fines for contraventions of the MHSA by mining companies. The administrative fine system in the MHSA is intended to incentivise compliance by threatening the bottom line, and other laws have followed suit.
The Draft Bill
On 23 October 2026, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (the Minister) published the Draft National Environmental Management Laws (Administrative Penalties) Amendment Bill, 2026 (the Draft Bill) for public comment.
The Draft Bill follows a review of the existing enforcement framework by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE). The review indicates that criminal sanctions alone do not adequately address all forms of environmental non-compliance. According to the DFFE, additional enforcement tools are needed to deter and remedy certain contraventions.
Administrative penalties
The Draft Bill proposes administrative penalties as an additional enforcement tool under the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (NEMA), and the specific environmental management Acts (SEMAs).
The aim is to give environmental authorities an alternative to criminal prosecution for certain contraventions. Inspectors would be able to impose administrative penalties for non-compliance with, among other things:
- The terms or conditions of a licence, permit, authorisation or exemption, or an adopted instrument; or
- A provision of NEMA or a SEMA, or a norm or standard.
The Draft Bill proposes two types of administrative penalties:
- A fixed penalty, with the amount prescribed by the Minister.
- A variable penalty imposed by an inspector, capped at R50 million per contravention.
Personal liability
The proposed penalties would not apply only to companies. The Draft Bill proposes that any person who is or was a director of the company at the time when that company contravened a provision for which an administrative penalty may be imposed, may also be held personally liable for the penalty, if the contravention resulted from that individual failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the provision was not contravened.
Employees and agents may also be held personally liable for an administrative penalty if they acted or failed to act where that act or failure is a contravention by an employer for which a penalty may be imposed.
Mandatory public disclosure
The Draft Bill would also require the company to publish details of the penalty (i) on its website for a period of one year following the date of the penalty; (ii), in its annual report; and (iii) in any other manner prescribed by the Minister.
Civil judgment enforcement
Additionally, a copy of the administrative penalty may be filed by an inspector with a court to obtain a court order against the offender, if the full amount of the penalty is not paid and if the offender has not submitted an objection to the penalty, or if despite the submission of an objection, the offender has still been found liable. The filing of such a notice has the effect of a civil judgment and may be enforced as if handed down by a court.
What you should do now
For mining companies, the stakes could be significant: substantial penalties, personal liability, and public scrutiny. We recommend that mining companies should review the Draft Bill in detail and submit their comments by 22 December 2026. Companies should also begin strengthening their systems to monitor compliance, identify contraventions early and ensure that corrective action is taken promptly and followed through to resolution.
If you need assistance with your submission, please contact Chantal Murdock at chantal@bv-inc.co.za.
Authors: Warren Beech and Chantal Murdock
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as legal advice. Readers should consult one of our legal professionals for advice tailored to their specific circumstances.