The awards scheme run by the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) is governed by a set of rules.

A mine wishing to participate in the awards scheme administered by the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC) must comply with the following:

• It must be registered as a mine with the Minerals Bureau of the DME;
• It must be in continuous operation for the qualifying period;
• Qualifying shifts commence from the date of registration with the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate;
• The manager must define the participating entity and this participating entity must be registered with the Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate;
• A monthly report must be submitted to the DME for each participating entity within the registered mine;
• The size of the participating entity will be limited (where possible) to a size where the participating entity will take approximately six months or more to qualify for one million fatality free shifts;
• Participating entities will be allowed to take part in one or more of the categories of the scheme with the following exception: a participating entity may take part in either the Millionaire Award or the Thousand Fatality-Free Production Shifts Award, but not both.
• The participating entity must be described on the registration form. The form must be submitted before a participating entity will be allowed to participate in the awards scheme.

Should a participant withdraw from an awards scheme, it may rejoin provided it complies with the rules.