The Department of Social Development has welcomed the newly introduced Children’s Amendment Bill of 2025, a comprehensive legislative update designed to close existing legal gaps, align the Children’s Act with recent court rulings, and significantly enhance measures to protect children from violence, neglect, and exploitation.
The Bill reinforces the constitutional rights of children to safety, dignity, and family life, ensuring they are not unnecessarily separated from their communities.
Key provisions in the Bill include:
- Stronger Safeguards: Enhanced protection for children’s physical and psychological integrity.
- Parental Rights: Clearer regulation of the rights of unmarried fathers.
- National Oversight: The appointment of a Registrar for the National Child Protection Register.
- Expedited Justice: Faster legal processes for child abduction cases and guaranteed legal representation for affected children.
- Media Engagement: New rules governing how children interact with the media.
The Bill also empowers provincial social development departments and municipalities to manage partial care facilities. It explicitly bans all forms of child abandonment, including the use of “baby boxes,” and introduces enhanced inclusion measures for children with disabilities.
Further amendments strengthen protections for unaccompanied migrant children and refine regulations around adoption, surrogacy, and intercountry adoption in collaboration with the Minister of Health.
The Department highlighted that these amendments mark a significant step toward a safer, more inclusive, and accountable child protection system. It has called on the public, civil society organizations, and all stakeholders to review the Bill and submit their comments within the 30-day public consultation period, which began on 26 September 2025. The goal is to ensure the rights and well-being of South Africa’s most vulnerable children are fully protected.
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