Children's Institute

Children's Act guide for drop-in centre managers, November 2012 [3.3 MB]

Children's Act guide for early childhood development practitioners, November 2011 [2.45 MB]

Children's Act guide for child and youth care workers, January 2011 [2.84 MB]

A guide to the Children's Act for health professionals, 4th edition, 1 June 2010

Guide to the Children's Act No. 38 of 2005, 26 May 2008

Legal guide to ages thresholds for children (print version)

Legal guide to ages thresholds for children (electronic version)

History of the law-making process

The first Bill dealt with matters which national government is responsible for. Parliament passed this Bill in December 2005. The President signed it into law in June 2006 and its official name and number is the Children's Act 38 of 2005. The President then published a proclamation in the Government Gazette for 44 sections of the Children's Act to come into force on 1 July 2007.

The second Bill (dealing with the service areas for which the provinces are responsible) was passed by Parliament in November 2007 and signed into law by the President in March 2008. It is called the Children’s Amendment Act 41 of 2007.

The two Acts have now been consolidated into one Act, called the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 (as amended by Act 41 of 2007).

On 1 April 2010, proclamations were published in the Government Gazette, putting into full operation the whole Act (as amended) and a comprehensive set of regulations and forms.

Between 2002 and 2008, the Children’s Institute monitored the Childen’s Act law-making process and co-ordinated a civil society campaign. See the Progress Updates below for more details on the key debates, amendments and final decisions by Parliament. These are helpful when interpreting the provisions of the Act as they show the key debates and evidence behind Parliament’s decisions.

Progress Updates on the second Bill (now called the Children’s Amendment Act 41 of 2007)

5 November 2007 – Second Bill: National Assembly amendments 
6 June 2007 – Second Bill: NCOP amendments
13 November 2006 – Second Bill: NCOP deliberations and public hearings

Progress Updates on the first Bill (now called the Children’s Act 38 of 2005)

13 March 2006 – First Bill: NCOP proposed amendments and National Assembly’s final decisions on these proposed amendments
27 June 2005 – First Bill: National Assembly’s amendments
21 September 2004 – First Bill: National Assembly public hearings

Click here for previous progress updates, spanning the period 2003 – 2007.

• Summary: Analysis of the budgets of nine provincial departments of social development:

Funding the Children’s Act: Assessing the adequacy of the 2011/12 budgets of the provincial departments of social development
Budlender D & Proudlock P 2011 [research summary]

• Report: Analysis of the budgets of nine provincial departments of social development:

Funding the Children’s Act: Assessing the adequacy of the 2011/12 budgets of the provincial departments of social development
Budlender D & Proudlock P 2011 [research report]

• Analysis of the budget of Free State provincial department of social development:

Funding the Children’s Act: Assessing the adequacy of the 2011/12 budget of the Free State department of social development
Budlender D & Proudlock P 2011

• Analysis of both government and donor budgets for implementing the Children’s Act:

Funding of services required by the Children's Act
Budlender D, Proudlock P & Giese S 2011
Community for Social Enquiry & Children's Institute [research summary]

Funding of Childen's Act-related services
Budlender D, Williams L, Saal Q, Sineke T & Proudlock P 2011
Community for Social Enquiry & Children's Institute, UCT [1.22 MB, research report]

The whole Children’s Act 38 of 2010 (as amended by Act 41 of 2007) came into operation on 1 April 2010. The regulations (and forms) also came into operation on the same day.

Pending amendments to the Children's Act and regulations

Since the Children's Act came into full force, the process of engagement and interpretation of the law inevitably exposed areas where the Act could be clearer, or needs to be improved. Various challenges have been identified and these necessitate the review of the Act, and amendment to the regulations. The Department of Social Development is now considering amendments to the Children's Act and its regulations. 

As part of the public consultation process, the Department of Social Development hosted a series of national workshops on proposed amendments to the Act and its regulations towards the end of 2011.

Read about the history of the Childen's Bill law-making process.