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PAIA / Sections / Section 87
Section 87

Extended periods for dealing with requests during first two years

Part 6 · Transitional Arrangements

(1) For— (a) 12 months from the date that Part 2 takes effect in respect of a public body, the reference to— (i) 30 days in section 25(1) and any other reference to that period in other provisions of this Act; (ii) 30 days in section 49(1) and any other reference to that period in other provisions of this Act, must be construed as a reference to 90 days in respect of that public body; and (b) 12 months following the 12 months referred to in paragraph (a), the reference to— (i) 30 days in section 25(1) and any other reference to that period in other provisions of this Act; (ii) 30 days in section 49(1) and any other reference to that period in other provisions of this Act, must be construed as a reference to 60 days in respect of the public body concerned.

(2) The periods of 90 days and 60 days referred to in subsection (1)(a) and (b), respectively, may not be extended in terms of section 26.

(3) Parliament must, after a period of 12 months, but within a period of 18 months, after the commencement of this section, review the operation of this section.

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Beyond the text

What this means in practice

  • A run-in provision that lengthened response deadlines (to 90, then 60 days) during PAIA's first two years of operation for public bodies.
  • It is of historical rather than current effect — today's standard period is 30 days.
Relevant tool

PopiGuard tracks the current statutory deadlines that apply to your requests today.

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