MANDATORY REQUIREMENT FOR PRIVATE BODIES TO COMPILE A PAIA MANUAL BY THE 1ST OF JANUARY 2021

 

The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2002 (PAIA) was created to give effect to the constitutional right of access to any information held by the State and/or any information that is held by another person that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.

Section 51 of the PAIA requires heads of ALL private bodies to compile a manual and make it available on their websites if any or their principal places of business during working hours. This section has been amended by the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA) requiring the manual to contain additional information relating to the processing of personal information by the private body. These amendments were scheduled to be effective as from 1 July 2021, however an extension of a further six months was granted by the Information Regulator.

From the 1st of January 2022 ALL private bodies will be expected to have a PAIA manual. To assist, the Information Regulator published a template PAIA manual available on its website. This manual serves as a template that the responsible parties can rely on and refer to in compiling a company specific manual.

Entities are encouraged to take advantage and ensure compliance by the due date to avoid being in breach of both the POPIA and the PAIA.

To download the PAIA template for private bodies click here