Access to Information

Access to Information is regulated by law in many countries around the world. For example, the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA, or PAI Act) in South Africa. It is crucial to strike a balance between this critical right and the right to privacy. Read our insights, regulatory updates, judgment summaries, enforcement action (including fines and notes), data breaches or authority guidance.

Is the PAIA manual deadline upon us?

Yes, the PAIA manual deadline was 31 December 2021. You may have received an alarming email warning you to submit your PAIA manual or risk landing up in jail. December 2021 has passed and you're wondering whether you need [...]

By |2022-12-20T10:52:01+02:00January 2nd, 2022|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , |
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Benatar v Black Academic Caucus

In Benatar v Black Academic Caucus, Professor Benatar lost his High Court application for access to the Black Academic Caucus' membership list, its office bearers, and other documents. This judgment explains how the courts assess applications for access to information [...]

By |2022-11-28T12:51:12+02:00December 15th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: |
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Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd t/a Financial Mail v South African Revenue Services

In Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd t/a Financial Mail v South African Revenue Services (SARS), the court granted the Financial Mail an interim order to compel SARS to disclose certain tax records. The court held that certain sections of the Promotion [...]

By |2023-06-06T14:14:23+02:00November 16th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: |
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Your PAIA Manual and POPIA | Action required

Do you already have a PAIA manual or Access to Information manual? Are you wondering whether it is in-line with the latest laws and regulations in South Africa? Is your PAIA manual in-line with POPIA (Protection of Personal [...]

By |2022-12-20T10:50:27+02:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , |
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PAIA Regulations | Regulations on the promotion of access to information

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has published the final PAIA regulations. Regulations on the promotion of access to information The Minister is empowered by the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to make PAIA regulations. Most [...]

By |2025-12-18T08:06:05+02:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , |
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Regulator PAIA Manual template available for download

The information regulator has published a regulator PAIA manual template for both a public and a private body. The regulator is trying to help organisations create a manual themselves quickly and easily without having to pay a service provider [...]

By |2021-10-28T15:39:00+02:00September 7th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , |
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PAIA Manual exemption extended again until 30 June 2021!

The Minister of Justice and Correctional Services has once again exempted most organisations from having to compile a PAIA manual. The Minister has decided to exempt certain private bodies "from compiling the Manual contemplated in section 51(1) of PAIA...". [...]

By |2022-06-19T21:23:25+02:00July 13th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , , |
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South Africa enters a new era of both the protection of and access to information

1 July 2021 is a milestone in South Africa and you have an important role to play into the future. For the protection of personal information, we move out of the grace period and into a world where the [...]

By |2022-11-15T15:58:47+02:00July 1st, 2021|Categories: Access to Information, POPI and Data Protection|Tags: , |
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PAIA Manual exemption extended again until 31 December 2021!

In June 2021, the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services once again exempted all private bodies (except for certain companies) from having a PAIA manual until 31 December 2021. The exemption is only six months, effective from 1 July [...]

By |2022-12-20T10:54:21+02:00June 29th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: |
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Information regulator annual performance plan for 2021 to 2022

The information regulator has published its annual performance plan for 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022. It has also presented them in different formats to different audiences. For example, the regulator held a readiness stakeholder engagement on 15 June [...]

By |2025-03-03T10:03:23+02:00June 17th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information, POPI and Data Protection|Tags: , , , |
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Guidance note on information officers and deputy information officers

The information regulator has published a guidance note on information officers and deputy information officers to provide guidance, procedures and forms to enable responsible parties to do various things required by law. To save you time, we have summarised [...]

By |2025-06-06T14:13:01+02:00April 16th, 2021|Categories: Access to Information, POPI and Data Protection|Tags: , , , , , |
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Mani v The Information Officer Mintek

In Mani v The Information Officer Mintek, Mani made a request to the Information officer of Mintek in terms of PAIA to determine the source of an email containing defamatory information about her. The court ordered Mintek to provide [...]

By |2022-12-19T11:51:03+02:00January 22nd, 2021|Categories: Access to Information|Tags: , , |
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