Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act, 1993 (Act No. 130 of 1993)Chapter I : Interpretation of Act1. Definitions |
In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise—
means an incident or occurrence arising out of and in the course of an employee’s employment and resulting in a personal injury, illness, occupational disease or the death of the employee;
[Definition substituted by section 1(a) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means any Fellow of an institute, faculty, society or chapter of actuaries approved by the Actuarial Society of South Africa;
[Definition substituted by section 1(b) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means an employee employed in any capacity in an aircraft;
means—
| (a) | the amount referred to in section 82(1)(a) if accepted by the Director-General as correct; |
| (b) | the amount determined by the Director-General if in his opinion the amount referred to in paragraph (a) is less than the amount actually paid; or |
| (c) | the estimated amount referred to in section 82(5); |
means an assessment made in terms of section 83 or an assessment of disablement in terms of sections 47 and 49, or an assessment of an employee in relation to rehabilitation in terms of section 70A of this Act, depending on the context;
[Definition substituted by section 1(c) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means a person appointed under section 8 as an assessor;
means the Compensation Board established by section 10;
means any industry, undertaking, trade or occupation or any activity in which any employee is employed;
[Definition deleted by section 1(d) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means the Compensation Commissioner appointed under section 2(1)(a);
[Definition substituted by section 1(b) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means compensation for employees and their dependents in terms of this Act, and, where applicable, includes medical costs or constant attendance care allowance and funeral costs;
[Definition substituted by section 1(e) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means the fund established by section 15;
means the continental shelf referred to in section 7 of the Territorial Waters Act, 1963 (Act No. 87 of 1963);
means a person referred to as a contractor in section 89;
means—
| (a) | a widow or widower who at the time of the employee’s death was a life partner of the employee or who was married to the employee according to civil law, civil union, customary law or any other marriage recognised in terms of any other law; |
| (b) | deleted |
| (c) | if there is no widow or widower referred to in paragraph (a), a person with whom the employee was at the time of the employee’s death living as husband and wife; |
| (d) | a child under the age of 18 years of the employee or of his or her spouse, and includes a posthumous child, step-child, an adopted child and a child born out of wedlock; |
| (e) | a child over the age of 18 years, but below the age of 25 years if the child is still receiving tertiary education, of the employee or his or her spouse, and includes a posthumous child, step-child, an adopted child and a child born out of wedlock, who is a learner or who is wholly or partly financially dependent on the employee; and |
| (f) | a child who is 25 years old or older, a parent, a brother, a sister, a half-brother or half-sister, a grandparent, a grandchild or any other person, |
and who was in the opinion of the Commissioner at the time of the employee’s death wholly or partly financially dependent on the employee: Provided there is no widow or widower as referred to in paragraph (a) or a person as referred to in paragraphs (c) and (e) or a child as referred to in paragraph (d);
[Definition substituted by section 1(f) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
[Definition substituted by section 1(e) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means temporary partial disablement, temporary total disablement, permanent disablement or serious disfigurement, as the case may be;
[Definition substituted by section 1(f) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means the remuneration as defined in paragraph 1 of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1962 (Act No. 58 of 1962), but does not include any amount paid or payable to an employee—
| (a) | by way of any pension, superannuation, allowance or retiring allowance; and |
| (b) | which constitutes an amount contemplated in paragraphs (a), (cA), (d), (e) or (eA) of the definition of ‘gross income’ in section 1 of the Income Tax Act, 1962; |
[Definition substituted by section 1(g) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023]
means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service or of apprenticeship or learnership, with an employer, whether the contract is express or implied, oral or in writing, and whether the remuneration is calculated by time or by work done, or is in cash or in kind, and includes—
| (a) | a casual employee employed for the purpose of the employer's business; |
| (b) | a director or a legal person who has entered into a contract of employment or of apprenticeship or learnership with the legal person, in so far as he or she acts within the scope of his or her employment in terms of such contract or a person in receipt of or entitled to receive benefits in terms of this Act, irrespective of whether he or she is still employed; |
| (c) | a person provided by a temporary employment services against payment to a client for the rendering of a service or the performance of work, and for which service or work such person is paid by the temporary employment services; |
| (d) | in the case of a deceased employee, his or her dependants, and in the case of an employee who is a person under disability, a curator acting on behalf of that employee, |
but does not include—
| (i) | a person, including a person in the employ of the State, performing military service or undergoing training referred to in the Defence Act, 2002 (Act No. 42 of 2002), and who is not a member of the Permanent Force of the South African Defence Force; |
| (ii) | a member of the Permanent Force of the South African Defence Force as defined in section 1 of the Defence Act, 2002; |
| (iii) | a member of the South African Police Force while employed in terms of section 7 of the South African Police Service Act, 1995 (Act No. 68 of 1995); and |
| (iv) | a person who contracts for the carrying out of work and himself or herself engages other persons to perform such work; |
[Definition substituted by section 1(h) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023]
means any person or legal person, including the State, who employs an employee, and includes—
| (a) | any person controlling the business of an employer; |
| (b) | if the services of an employee are lent or let or temporarily made available to some other person by the employer, such employer for such period as the employee works for that other person; |
| (c) | a temporary employment services who against payment provides a person to a client for the rendering of a service or the performance of work, and for which service or work such person is paid by the temporary employment services; |
[Definition substituted by section 1(i) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means an employer who in terms of section 84(1)(a) and (b) is exempt from paying assessments to the Compensation Fund;
[Definition substituted by section 1(j) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means an employers’ organisation as defined in section 213 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995);
[Definition substituted by section 1(k) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means the period between the first day of April in any year and the last day of March in the following year, both dates included;
[Definition substituted by section 1(l) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means a legal person to whom a licence has been issued in terms of section 30 of this Act;
[Definition inserted by section 1(m) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
[Definition deleted by section 1(n) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means medical, surgical or hospital treatment, skilled nursing services, any remedial treatment approved by the Director-General, the supply and repair of any prosthesis or any device necessitated by disablement, and ambulance services where, in the opinion of the Director-General, they were essential;
means a person registered as a medical practitioner in terms of the Medical, Dental and Supplementary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974);
means the Minister of Labour;
[Definition substituted by section 1(h) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means, where it appears in the relevant items in Schedule 4, a pension payable monthly during the lifetime of the employee or compensation payable to dependants when an employee dies as a result of occupational injury or disease or compensation for occupational disease or injury resulting in permanent disablement of more than 30 per cent;
[Definition inserted by section 1(o) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means a mutual association licensed under section 30;
means the fund established by section 213 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996);
[Definition inserted by section 1(i) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means the natural resources referred to in section 7 of the Territorial Waters Act, 1963 (Act No. 87 of 1963);
means any disease contemplated in section 65(1)(a) or (b), and includes post-traumatic stress disorder;
[Definition substituted by section 1(p) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means a personal injury sustained as a result of an accident;
means a pension referred to in section 49 or 54;
means a periodical payment of compensation in respect of temporary disablement;
in relation to an employee and subject to section 49, means the permanent inability of such employee to perform any work as a result of an accident or occupational disease for which compensation is payable;
[Definition inserted by section 1(k) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
[Definition deleted by section 1(q) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means prescribed in terms of this Act or by regulation;
means any officer appointed in terms of section 2(1)(a) or (b) and designated as such by the Director-General;
[Definition inserted by section 1(l) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means a regulation made in terms of this Act;
means measures, services and facilities, also in the form of clinical, vocational and social rehabilitation provided for in Chapter VIIA of the Act, provided with a view to the reintegration of employees exposed to an occupational injury or disease, back into work and to enable them to attain and maintain where reasonable and practicable, maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life;
[Definition inserted by section 1(r) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means allowances, subsidies and other allowances as determined by the Minister;
[Definition inserted by section 1(r) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means the fund established by section 19;
means an employee employed in any capacity on board a ship by the owner or person in command of the ship;
[Definition substituted by section 1(s) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
[Definition deleted by section 1(t) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means an aircraft registered or licensed in the Republic in terms of a law governing the registration or licensing of aircraft, and the owner of which is resident in the Republic or has a place of business in the Republic;
means a vessel used in navigation which—
| (a) | is registered in the Republic in terms of any law/governing the registration of ships and is not registered in any other state in terms of a similar law; or |
| (b) | is owned or chartered by a person whose head office or place of business is in the Republic or by a person who resides in the Republic; |
means a person referred to as a sub-contractor in section 89;
[Definition inserted by section 1(u) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
[Definition deleted by section 1(m) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
means the tariff of assessment referred to in section 83(1);
in relation to an employee, means the temporary partial inability of such employee as a result of an accident or occupational disease for which compensation is payable to perform the whole of the work at which he or she was employed at the time of such accident or at the commencement of such occupational disease or to resume work at a rate of earnings not less than that which he or she was receiving at the time of such accident or occupational disease;
[Definition substituted by section 1(n) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
in relation to an employee, means the temporary total inability of such employee as a result of an accident or occupational disease for which compensation is payable to perform the work at which he or she was employed at the time of such accident or at the commencement of such occupational disease or work similar thereto;
[Definition substituted by section 1(o) of Act No. 61 of 1997]
includes the Schedules thereto and any regulation;
means a trade union as defined in section 213 of the Labour Relations Act, 1995 (Act No. 66 of 1995), and includes an employees’ organisation;
[Definition substituted by section 1(v) of the Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Amendment Act 10 of 2022, Notice No. 3294, GG48431 dated 17 April 2023 - effective 23 January 2026 per (a) of Proclamation Notice 306, GG53990 dated 23 January 2026]
means the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1941 (Act No. 30 of 1941);