IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL (OF WHICH THERE MAY WELL BE TWO)

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CHILDREN’S AMENDMENT BILL (OF WHICH THERE MAY WELL BE TWO)

• 31 May 2026
• In the Spotlight
• SA Legal Academy

A Children’s Amendment Bill ‘critical to unlocking a more efficient, child-centred ECD (early childhood development) system has been approved by Cabinet and is now ready to be tabled in Parliament. This is according to a Department of Basic Education media statement on Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s recent 2026/27 budget speech. Describing the Bill as ‘a major legislative development’, the statement quotes the Minister as having drawn attention to provisions removing the ‘unnecessary red tape’ widely perceived to exclude vulnerable children from support.

Could this be the Children’s Amendment Bill released in draft form in September 2025 for public comment? Prepared by the Department of Social Development, it definitely focused on vulnerable children requiring support – although it made no explicit reference to ECD. The draft Bill was included in a SA Legal Academy report published at the time – a link to which is provided at the end of this article.

Parliamentary Monitoring Group records on the long process culminating in that piece of legislation tend to suggest that Minister Gwarube was referring to an entirely Bill altogether. Nevertheless, muddying the waters somewhat is that, on 1 April 2022, the Department of Basic Education assumed responsibility for ECD. Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, it may be worth noting that the process of drafting legislation intended to address issues affecting vulnerable children in the context of ECD has been under way for at least 15 years. The necessary provisions were included in a Children’s Amendment Bill tabled in 2020, which also sought to respond to a 2011 Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruling requiring the Department of Social Development to find a ‘comprehensive legal solution’ to myriad challenges bedevilling the foster care system. This is reflected in a July 2022 report to the National Assembly compiled by its Social Development Committee at the time. The report also outlines events with significant implications for the Bill, as summarised below.

During March 2021, in the light of concerns raised by the South African Local Government Association about the pre-tabling public consultation process, the National Assembly Social Development Committee in place at the time decided to remove all ECD-related provisions from the Bill – giving the department the opportunity to consult more widely. Most importantly, this made it possible for Parliament to pass legislation addressing issues flagged by the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) within that Court’s most recent deadline extension. The outcome was the 2022 Children’s Amendment Act, which was partly operationalised the following year and became fully effective in May 2025.

It was agreed that the fate of provisions removed from the Bill would be left to the next Parliament, as indicated in a ‘legacy’ document presented in August 2024 to the National Assembly Social Development Committee now in place. This was noting that the issues concerned could either be addressed in a Bill prepared by the committee itself – or in legislation drafted by the department for Cabinet approval and formal introduction by the Minister. Given that a committee Bill tends to require the appointment of external expertise – a time-consuming process – members decided that the department should proceed with drafting the Bill. A media statement was issued confirming the decision.

Nearly two years later, having been informed by the department that ‘revised timelines’ were likely to delay the Bill’s tabling until March 2027, the committee issued a statement expressing ‘deep concern’. Apparently, the Bill ‘will only be finalised for submission to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) by July 2026’ – a pre-Cabinet approval procedural step overlooked during the initial planning process.

All of which does seem to suggest that Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s soon-to-be-tabled Children’s Amendment Bill is an entirely different kettle of fish – unless the NEDLAC phase of the Department of Social Development’s Bill was somehow circumvented.

Clarity is needed.

• 27 May 2026 Department of Basic Education media statement
• May 2026 National Assembly Social Development Committee media statement
• September 2025 SA Legal Academy report
• August 2024 ‘legacy’ document
• August 2024 committee media statement
• July 2022 committee report
• 2022 Act

Published by SA Legal Academy Policy Watch

Follow us on X @SALegalAcademy (you can also join us on LinkedIn and Facebook)

If you use this information in articles, reports and social media posts of your own, please acknowledge SA Legal Academy Policy Watch as your source

0 COMMENTS

LEAVE A COMMENT