NEWS19 August 2026Many researchers are unaware of an upcoming law that will require them to register with a regulatory body, as is the case for engineers and healthcare professonals.BySarah Wild0Sarah WildSarah Wild is a freelance journalist in Canterbury, UK.View author publicationsSearch author on: PubMed Google ScholarSave articleView saved researchThe South African parliament has yet to debate the proposed natural-sciences bill. Credit: Franz Aberham/GettyNatural scientists in South Africa could be imprisoned for up to a year for failing to register with a government-backed regulatory body, according to proposed legislation that is to go before South Africa’s parliament.Under the terms of the proposed law, it will be mandatory for some scientists to register with an existing body called the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP). SACNSP was set up in 2003 and all natural scientists in the country were meant to have registered with it, but many never did.“Our goal is not to be gatekeepers, but to professionalize the natural sciences through registration and regulation,” SACNASP’s acting chief executive Matshidiso Matabane told Nature. “It is our obligation to not only protect the profession itself, but the public and the environment,” she added.The proposed legislation states that it aims to “protect and promote the public interests by regulating the conduct of practising natural scientists” and “to ensure the protection of the environment”.It would regard natural scientists similar to engineers and healthcare professionals, who need to register with their respective regulatory bodies: the Engineering Council of South Africa and the Healthcare Professions Council of South Africa.However, leading scientists have told Nature that many researchers are unaware of the law, or of the possible penalty of a jail term. A date for the legislation to be debated in parliament has yet to be set.“It’s a money-making scheme,” says Nithaya Chetty, a physicist and dean of science at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, who is not registered with SACNASP and was unaware of the proposed law until Nature brought it to his attention. He says he is concerned that the draft bill “gives the SACNASP board considerable future power”, and adds that it is ambiguous in its definitions.Lise Korsten, a plant scientist at the University of Pretoria and former president of the African Academy of Sciences, says that she, too, was unaware of the provision for jail time in the proposed law. However, Korsten, who is also not registered with SACNASP, says she supports accountability for scientists who are involved in consulting. Fraudulent ‘experts’ are “a big problem” for the country. “It’s for public protection,” says Korsten.New law for oldThe text of the draft bill, which is dated 16 March, repeals the previous 2003 legislation on SACNASP. It clarifies the purpose and governance of the council, and introduces the possible penalty of a criminal record: “practising natural scientists” who do not comply with the legislation could be sentenced to up to a year in jail.Public comment on the bill closed in May, and it will now be presented in the country’s parliament for debate, although the timeline for this is unclear.The text defines “practising” in the natural-sciences context as “rendering of a service or provision of advice in the natural scientific profession”, whether for remuneration or for free.Those who teach at a recognized educational institution, and those who develop policy on natural science for the government, are not required to register. But it is not clear in the text if academics who teach or do research need to register if they consult with or advise other organizations.SACNASP referred all questions regarding the bill to the South African government's Department of Science, Technology and Innovation. The department had not responded to Nature's questions at the time of publication.The bill also does not include precise details about the process that would be used to prosecute scientists who fail to register. But it does say that a code of conduct will be drawn up in consultation with scientists’ representative organizations (which are also required to register).High costsA full professional SACNASP membership costs 1,920 South African rand (US$119) annually, but there is also a one-off registration charge, which is 2,560 rand for South Africans and 5,410 rand for foreign scientists. The minimum wage in South Africa is 30.23 rand an hour — about 5,200–5,900 rand a month.At present, about 21,000 scientists are registered with SACNASP, Matabane says. These members span 26 disciplines, including mathematics, geological sciences and the physical sciences. No data are available on how many of the country’s academics have not registered.doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02516-2SubjectsGovernmentIndustryLawPolicyLatest on:GovernmentIndustryLawJobs Faculty - MD, PhD, MD/PhD, equivalentTexas Children's and Baylor College of Medicine - Open search for research faculty positions. 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