Action on receipt of complaint
(1) The Information Regulator, after receipt of a complaint made in terms of section 77A, must— (a) investigate the complaint in the prescribed manner; (b) refer the complaint to the Enforcement Committee established in terms of section 50 of the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013; or (c) decide, in accordance with section 77D, to take no action on the complaint or, as the case may be, require no further action in respect of the complaint.
(2) During the investigation the Information Regulator may— (a) act, where appropriate, as conciliator in relation to such complaint in the prescribed manner; or (b) take such further action as is contemplated by this Chapter.
(3) The Information Regulator must, as soon as is reasonably practicable, after receipt of a complaint, advise the complainant and the information officer or head of a private body, as the case may be, to whom the complaint relates of the course of action that the Information Regulator proposes to adopt under subsection (1).
What this means in practice
- On receiving a complaint the Regulator must investigate, refer it to its Enforcement Committee, or decide to take no action — and it can act as conciliator.
- The parties must be told which course the Regulator proposes to take.
PopiGuard helps bodies respond well when the Regulator opens a PAIA complaint investigation.