Section 4
Records held by official or independent contractor of public or private body
Part 1 · Introductory Provisions · Chapter 2 — General Application Provisions
For the purposes of this Act, but subject to section 12, a record in the possession or under the control of— (a) an official of a public body or private body in his or her capacity as such; or (b) an independent contractor engaged by a public body or private body in the capacity as such contractor, is regarded as being a record of that public body or private body, respectively.
Source: SAFLII — Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (consolidated, updated 11 October 2024) — cross-checked verbatim before publishing.
Beyond the text
What this means in practice
- A record held by your official or independent contractor, in that capacity, counts as your body's record.
- You can't put records beyond PAIA's reach simply by parking them with a contractor.
Relevant tool
PopiGuard helps you account for records held by agents and contractors, not just those on your own servers.