A Pretoria High Court ruling handed down on 7 August 2026 in the Institute for Economic Justice and #PayTheGrants challenge (Gauteng Division of the High Court, case rolled forward from the 2024 IEJ v Minister of Social Development judgment, case 19004/2022) has declared several sections of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) regulations unreasonably restrictive. The court has asked the Department of Social Development to revise the qualifying rules and the amount itself. If the ruling is implemented in full, the number of beneficiaries could rise from around 8.3 million today to roughly 18 million, and the monthly value could move from R370 closer to the national food poverty line.
As of 21 September 2026: the R370 amount is still landing on its normal cycle dates, the R624 monthly means-test cap is still active, and the SRD portal at srd.sassa.gov.za is operating normally again after the six-day "It works!" maintenance page that took it offline from 28 August to 3 September. The Department of Social Development filed its intent to comply rather than appeal on 4 September but the amended regulations have not yet gone to gazette. Nothing about the current payment has changed yet.
National Treasury has responded with a stark warning. In its written reply to Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance on 12 August 2026, Treasury put the extra annual cost of the widened grant at approximately R93.5 billion. That is a figure Treasury cannot absorb without either raising revenue, reallocating from other programmes, or phasing implementation. The Livelihoods Grant public-comment window (the successor framework the court's changes are most likely to be folded into) closed on 30 April, so a partly drafted successor is already sitting on the table.
This guide sets out what the court found, why the beneficiary number nearly doubles, where the R450 figure comes from, what Treasury has said about the cost, and what SRD recipients should do in the meantime.
What the Court Actually Ruled
The judgment tackled several provisions in the SRD regulations that civil society groups have argued for years are unreasonably restrictive. The court found that certain qualifying rules, including the definition of "income" used in the monthly means test and the exclusion criteria that pull people off the grant when a small once-off deposit lands in their account, place the regulations in tension with the constitutional right to social assistance for those unable to support themselves.
Two threads run through the ruling. First, the qualifying threshold has been set so low that people living in food poverty are being disqualified for month-to-month reasons the regulations were never intended to catch, such as a family member sending R700 to help with a funeral. Second, the amount itself, unchanged at R370 for years, no longer reflects what it costs to buy a basic monthly food basket. The court has asked the department to reconsider both.
The Ruling Is Not Automatic
A High Court declaration that a regulation is invalid does not on its own change the amount in your account. The change becomes real only when the department publishes revised regulations, Treasury sets aside the money in the budget, and SASSA reconfigures the eligibility engine. Any of those steps can be delayed or narrowed in an appeal.
From 8.3 Million to 18 Million: Where the Number Comes From
The 8.3 million figure is the current number of monthly SRD approvals reported in the SASSA Annual Performance Report tabled in Parliament in June 2026. It is well below the pandemic-year peak because the R624 income cap, the Home Affairs data cross-check and the bank-inflow means test have tightened access. Millions of applicants who would otherwise be food-insecure fall out of the pool every month for reasons unrelated to whether they actually have income.
The 18 million figure is drawn from the Institute for Economic Justice modelling annex to the applicants' court papers, which estimated the pool of working-age adults below the Statistics South Africa food poverty line (R760 per person per month in the StatsSA National Poverty Lines report, 2024 update) who do not receive another SASSA grant, are not in formal employment, and are not covered by UIF. It is a projection, not a promise.
| Metric | Current (R370 SRD) | If Court Ruling Applied in Full |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly amount | R370 | About R450 |
| Monthly beneficiaries | 8.3 million | Around 18 million |
| Means test income cap | R624 per month | Aligned to food poverty line |
| Estimated additional annual cost | Baseline | R93.5 billion |
Not every one of those 18 million would draw the grant every month. The SRD is a monthly means test and any bank inflow above the qualifying level knocks a person out for that specific month. In practice the working figure would be lower, but even a conservative uptake still lands in double-digit millions.
What that gap looks like in a real file: one applicant we tracked through the July 2026 cycle was declined for an R732 inflow flagged by the SRD verification pipeline. The inflow turned out to be a sister's stokvel repayment that landed in his FNB account the day before his monthly check. Under the R624 rule, that single line disqualified him for August. Under the food-poverty-line test the court has asked the department to reset to, the same file would have stayed approved because the applicant's verified household position had not moved at all. He was placed back onto the pool for September only after a reconsideration request with a stokvel ledger attached, filed inside the 30-day window.
Why R450 and Not R370
The R450 figure sits between the current R370 and the Statistics South Africa food poverty line (R760 per person per month in the 2024 update of the StatsSA National Poverty Lines report). R370 sits well below that line and has not been adjusted for inflation. Civil society groups (chiefly the Institute for Economic Justice and #PayTheGrants) have argued for years that the SRD should at minimum march toward the food poverty line so that a recipient can actually buy the food basket the grant is intended to cover.
The court did not set a fixed rand amount. What it required is that the department set an amount that meets the constitutional standard for temporary social relief, and pointed to the food poverty line as the appropriate reference. R450 is the working figure being cited in official responses and in Treasury's cost modelling.
The R450 Is Not in Your Account Yet
Until the department publishes revised regulations and Treasury sets aside the funding, the amount that lands in your account remains R370. Anyone offering to "register" you for the new amount or asking for a fee to switch you to the R450 tier is running a scam. SASSA does not charge for any part of the application, review, or payment process.
Treasury's R93.5 Billion Warning
National Treasury's response has focused squarely on cost. In its written reply to Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance on 12 August 2026 (SCoF SRD reply, tabled 12 Aug 2026), Treasury put the extra annual cost at approximately R93.5 billion. That figure is built up from three components: the roughly 10 million additional beneficiaries the wider eligibility test would let in, the R80 monthly increase per person, and the administration and payment costs of running the larger caseload.
For scale: the entire SRD line item sits at approximately R36 billion for 2025-26 per the National Treasury Budget Review 2026, chapter 5. An extra R93.5 billion would more than triple the line. It is roughly equivalent to the combined provincial health budgets of two of the smaller provinces, or about half of what South Africa spends every year on debt-service costs.
Treasury has flagged three risks: crowding out other spending priorities, a further widening of the fiscal deficit, and pressure on the sovereign credit rating if the additional cost is added without a matching revenue source. It has not said the ruling should be ignored. It has said the implementation route needs to be phased, funded, and legislated, not simply administered.
Where the R93.5 Billion Would Have to Come From
Treasury has not identified a specific funding source. The three options being discussed publicly are: a new solidarity tax on higher earners, reallocating existing social spending, or borrowing at higher yields. Each has political and economic costs. None can be introduced without a formal budget process and Parliamentary approval, which is why nothing changes for August 2026 recipients.
What Happens Next: The Legal and Budget Timeline
The government has three practical paths. It can appeal the ruling, which pauses implementation while the higher court hears the matter. It can rewrite the regulations to comply with the judgment, which requires a public comment process and gazetting. Or it can fold the changes into the successor Livelihoods Grant already scheduled to replace the SRD from 1 April 2027. The third route is the one being signalled most strongly, because the Livelihoods Grant framework was always intended to sit closer to the food poverty line.
| Milestone | Indicative Timing | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Departmental response to the ruling | Q3 2026 | Formal decision to appeal, comply, or absorb into Livelihoods Grant |
| Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) | October 2026 | First read on how Treasury will phase any additional cost |
| National Budget speech 2027 | February 2027 | Confirmed amount, means test, and rollout date |
| Livelihoods Grant go-live | 1 April 2027 | Successor to the SRD, likely absorbs court-directed reforms |
None of these dates changes what you receive in August, September or October 2026. The R370 amount continues, the R624 means test continues, and the monthly application cycle continues exactly as it does today.
What SRD Recipients Should Do Right Now
The most important thing is to stay in the system. If the eligibility rules are eventually widened and the amount lifted, the automated migration will use the last several months of approval history to place recipients on the new grant. People whose files are dormant, or who have not been checking their status regularly, could miss the automated pull.
Another cycle-worn pattern: a returning recipient we spoke with on 3 September 2026 discovered her registered SRD cellphone was still an MTN number she cancelled in April. She had not seen a payment SMS for three cycles, which she assumed meant she had been declined, when she had actually been Approved and paid the whole time. The update took about eight minutes on the portal and her September status pulled through the next morning. The 0800 60 10 11 SASSA line answers within roughly six minutes if you call before 09:15; after 10:00 the wait stretches past twenty, so make the phone-number update on the SRD portal first and only call the line if the portal rejects the change.
Practical steps for September and October 2026:
Keep Your File Active
- Check your status monthly at grantza.org.za/sassa-status, even if it usually shows Approved. Missed monthly checks are the top cause of files going dormant.
- Keep your phone number current. If your registered cellphone changes, update it on the SRD portal the same week. The automated migration to any successor grant relies on the number on file.
- Understand the R624 means test. Even under the widened rules, a monthly bank inflow above the threshold still disqualifies the file for that month. Full mechanics on the SRD means test guide.
- Reapply immediately if declined. A single Decline does not remove you from the pool. Reapply the following month and, if the decline reason is wrong, request a reconsideration within 30 days.
- Ignore anyone offering "R450 registration". There is no such registration and no such fee.
The Bigger Picture
The ruling is being read as the strongest judicial pressure on the SRD framework since the grant was introduced in 2020. It arrives at a time when National Treasury is already juggling the transition to the Livelihoods Grant, the phased withdrawal of the R370 top-up, and the wider Budget 2026 social spending envelope. Any expansion of SRD eligibility has to be reconciled with those existing commitments.
For recipients, the practical picture is simple. Nothing changes for the September 2026 payment window. The court's finding is a green light for reform, not the reform itself. The next real signals will come at the October 2026 MTBPS and the February 2027 Budget. Until then, R370 is still R370, the R624 means test is still active, and the monthly cycle continues.
Check Your SRD Status Today
Use our free Status Check tool to see your current application status and the next payment window. Keeping your monthly check-in current is the single best thing you can do to stay in the pool for any expansion that follows the ruling.