DocumentOngoingNews

Lifestyle audits: Building integrity, restoring trust and strengthening the state

GCIS / SAnewsRef: GOVNEWS-83239 at https://www.sanews.gov.za

Official source

Source domain: sanews.gov.za

Collected on 31 July 2026

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What this means

This is a SAnews news article by Dr Salomon Hoogenraad-Vermaak explaining South Africa’s public-service lifestyle audits as an integrity and risk-management tool. It states that lifestyle audits annually assess whether a public servant’s standard of living aligns with their known income, assets and declared financial interests, and that they are mandatory across national and provincial departments. The article reports implementation progress (91% by March 2025, up from 61% in 2023) and describes that, in the 2025 reporting cycle, lifestyle reviews were conducted on 8,982 Senior Management Service members and more than 160,000 other public servants, with discrepancies referred for further investigation. It also notes plans to develop a single regulatory framework under the Public Administration Management Act to make lifestyle audits compulsory across all three spheres of government.

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integrity and risk reviewOngoing

Lifestyle audits for public servants (annual integrity/risk reviews)

Lifestyle audits annually check whether a public servant’s standard of living matches their known income, assets and declared financial interests. If unexplained discrepancies are found, the matters are referred for further investigation.

Who it is for: public servants in national and provincial departments, including Senior Management Service (SMS) members and other public servants
How to act on it: Lifestyle audits are conducted as part of the public service’s mandatory audit process; the article does not describe a public application or submission route.

Show the line this came from

Lifestyle audits are helping rebalance this equation by annually assessing whether a public servant's standard of living is reasonably consistent with their known income, assets and declared financial interests.

Facts

Reference

GOVNEWS-83239 at https://www.sanews.gov.za

Key Takeaways

Subject: lifestyle audits in the public service to prevent misconduct and strengthen integrity
Tool description: annual assessment of standard of living vs income, assets and declared financial interests
Introduced by: Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) as a risk management tool
Mandatory scope (current): all national and provincial departments
Constitutional basis referenced: Section 195 (professional ethics in the public service)
Institutionalised via: Guide to implement Lifestyle Audits in the Public Service (March 2021)
Announcement: President Cyril Ramaphosa in the 2018 State of the Nation Address
Policy embedding: Strategic Priority 3 of the Medium-Term Development Plan 2024–2029
Implementation progress: 91% of national and provincial departments by March 2025 (up from 61% in 2023)
2025 reporting cycle: 8,982 SMS members and 160,000+ other public servants reviewed
Action on findings: unexplained discrepancies referred for further investigation
Integrity system context: alongside financial disclosures, ethics management, consequence management, internal controls, whistle-blower protections, independent investigations
Capacity building: working with the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) using specialised investigators
Planned legal change: single regulatory framework under the Public Administration Management Act to make audits compulsory across all three spheres of government
Dr Salomon Hoogenraad-Vermaak
Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA)
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Special Investigating Unit (SIU)
Public Administration Management Act
Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)
SAnews

Dates

Opening Date

31 July 2026