| (1) | The Directors-General: Health, Social Development, Basic Education, Higher Education and Training and Communications and Digital Technologies must— |
| (a) | in consultation with the Cabinet members responsible for health, social development, basic education, higher education, science and innovation, police and communications and digital technologies; and |
| (b) | after consultation with the Director-General, National Director of Public Prosecutions and National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, |
publish in the Gazette directives regarding matters which are reasonably necessary or expedient to be provided for and which are to be followed by functionaries and other relevant persons when dealing with incidents of domestic violence, in order to achieve the objects of this Act.
| (2) | Without limiting the scope of the directives contemplated in subsection (1), the directives must provide for— |
| (a) | services to be provided to a complainant who is a child, a person with a disability or an older person; |
| (b) | the manner in which a functionary must deal with a complainant who is a child, a person with a disability or an older person, in order to protect them against further acts of domestic violence; |
| (c) | services to be provided to a complainant who is an adult person; |
| (d) | the assistance that a member of the South African Police Service or a peace officer who attends a scene of an incident of domestic violence must provide to a complainant and affected children; |
| (e) | a public education and communication initiative to educate the public on the provisions of this Act, the obligations of the relevant functionaries, including the South African Police Services, in respect of domestic violence incidents and institutions where complaints may be lodged against a functionary or a member of the South African Police Service or a peace officer; |
| (f) | the designation of accredited shelters; |
| (g) | standards and minimum conditions for the provision of services in accredited shelters; and |
| (h) | the manner in which a risk assessment must be conducted in respect of a complainant to provide or refer the complainant for further services. |
| (3) | The directives referred to in this section must ensure that adequate disciplinary steps are taken against a functionary or person who fails to comply with any directive. |
| (4) | Any directives issued in terms of subsection (1) must be submitted to Parliament before those directives take effect. |
[Section 18B inserted by section 24 of the Domestic Violence Amendment Act, 2021 (Act No. 14 of 2021), as per Notice No. 788, GG45824, dated 28 January 2022 - effective 14 April 2023 as the date on which the said Act, with the exception of section 6A, comes into operation, as per Proclamation No. 117, GG48419, dated 14 April 2023]
