Primary briefing · Gazette
high impact 54743 · 7519 · 2026-05-26
Employment Services Amendment Bill: imminent introduction to National Assembly
Government Notice 7519 announces the Minister of Employment and Labour's intention to introduce the Employment Services Amendment Bill, 2025 in the National Assembly. The Bill will amend the Employment Services Act 4 of 2014 to extend its scope to cover foreign nationals, private employment agencies not operating for gain, and workers. It aims to regulate the employment of foreign nationals consistently with the Immigration Act and the Refugees Act, expand the functions of the Employment Services Board, provide for the establishment and governance of Supported Employment Enterprises, and create further offences with improved enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance with the Act and immigration laws regulating work by foreign nationals. The Minister's signature is dated 21 May 2026 and the notice states introduction will follow 'shortly'.
Who is affected
Employers of foreign nationals across all sectorsPrivate employment agencies, including those not operating for gainLabour broking and recruitment firmsImmigration law and labour migration practitionersIn-house counsel in industries reliant on foreign labour (agriculture, hospitality, mining, construction)Supported employment enterprises and disability employment sector What this means for practitioners
Audit current foreign national employment practices and agency arrangements against the Bill's expanded scope and new offence provisions
Brief clients reliant on foreign labour on the Bill's trajectory and potential compliance exposure
Monitor the Bill's progress through the National Assembly — a public comment period may open once the Bill is formally introduced
Review existing employment agency agreements to assess whether non-profit or non-gain agencies fall within the expanded regulatory net
Track alignment requirements between the Employment Services Act, Immigration Act, and Refugees Act as the Bill progresses