Primary briefing · Gazette
high impact 55166 · 4088 · 2026-08-07
Three Bills published for comment: Regulation of Trusts, Legal Practice Amendment, Mining Laws Amendment
Comment closes
11 Sept 2026
General Notice 4088 of 2026 (GG 55166) invites public comments on three draft Bills published by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The Regulation of Trusts Bill, 2026 signals an entirely new standalone regulatory framework for trusts, with potentially far-reaching implications for estate planning, wealth structuring, and financial services. The Legal Practice Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes amendments to the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014, directly affecting every regulated attorney and advocate. The General (Mining) Laws Amendment Bill, 2026 targets mining-sector legislation. All three comment periods close on Friday, 11 September 2026. Submissions on the Mining and Legal Practice Bills must be directed to Ms F Bhayat; submissions on the Trusts Bill must be directed to Ms V Letswalo. Comments may be submitted by post, hand delivery, or email, and the draft Bills are available at the Department's legislation invitations page.
Who is affected
Legal practitioners (attorneys and advocates) regulated under the Legal Practice ActLaw firms and legal practice managementTrustees, trust administrators, and estate plannersFinancial services and wealth structuring advisorsMining companies and mining-sector in-house counselIn-house counsel across affected sectors What this means for practitioners
Review all three draft Bills (available at https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/invitations/invites.htm) and assess client and firm impact
Submit written comments by Friday, 11 September 2026 — mark Mining and Legal Practice Bill submissions for Ms F Bhayat; Trusts Bill submissions for Ms V Letswalo
Alert trust, estate planning, and financial services clients to the Regulation of Trusts Bill and coordinate comment submissions
Brief all regulated legal practitioners on the Legal Practice Amendment Bill and consider a firm-wide or professional-body response
Advise mining-sector clients of the General (Mining) Laws Amendment Bill and assess operational implications