Guide on how to use Act
(1) The Information Regulator must update and make available the existing guide that has been compiled by the South African Human Rights Commission containing such information, in an easily comprehensible form and manner, as may reasonably be required by a person who wishes to exercise any right contemplated in this Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013.
(2) The guide must, without limiting the generality of subsection (1), include a description of— (a) the objects of this Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013; (b) the manner and form of a request for— (i) access to a record of a public body contemplated in section 11; and (ii) access to a record of a private body contemplated in section 50; (c) the assistance available from the information officer of a public body in terms of this Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013; (d) the assistance available from the Information Regulator in terms of this Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013; (e) all remedies in law available regarding an act or failure to act in respect of a right or duty conferred or imposed by this Act and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013, including the manner of lodging— (i) an internal appeal; (ii) a complaint to the Information Regulator; and (iii) an application with a court against a decision by the information officer of a public body, a decision on internal appeal, a decision by the Information Regulator or a decision of the head of a private body; (f) the provisions of sections 14 and 51 requiring a public body and private body, respectively, to compile a manual, and how to obtain access to a manual; (g) the provisions of sections 15 and 52 providing for the voluntary disclosure of categories of records by a public body and private body, respectively; (h) the notices issued in terms of sections 22 and 54 regarding fees to be paid in relation to requests for access; and (i) the regulations made in terms of section 92.
(3) The Information Regulator must, if necessary, update and publish the guide at intervals of not more than two years.
(4) The guide must be made available as prescribed.
What this means in practice
- The Information Regulator — which took over PAIA from the SA Human Rights Commission on 30 June 2021 — must publish and keep updated a plain-language guide on how to use both PAIA and POPIA.
- The guide must cover requesting records from public bodies (s.11) and private bodies (s.50), the manuals (ss.14 and 51), fees (ss.22 and 54), and how to appeal or complain.
- In short, PAIA and POPIA are now explained together — a signal of how tightly the access-to-information and data-protection regimes are linked.
PopiGuard keeps your PAIA manual and access-request process aligned with the Regulator's guidance — and with the POPIA duties now folded into both.