The information officer of every public body in South Africa must submit a PAIA section 32 report to the Information Regulator annually. Section 32 of PAIA makes it compulsory – a regulatory requirement. PAIA gives effect to section 32 of the Constitution, which provides that everyone has the right to access any information that is held by the State or public bodies. The purpose of the information regulator is to ensure effective access to information. In other words, to ensure that people do, in fact, have access to the information that they need. The purpose of the report is to give the information regulator data so that they can assess how effectively public bodies are giving effect to this critical human right. The report enables the information regulator to see how transparent public bodies have been in the past year and therefore whether South Africans have received the benefits that openness brings. Remember that this section 32 PAIA report applies to information officers of public bodies. A section 83(4) PAIA report applies to heads of private bodies.
The submission date for Section 83(4) and Section 32 reports is from 1 April to 30 June yearly.
What is a PAIA section 83(4) report?
According to section 83(4) of PAIA, the regulator can request the heads of private bodies to submit reports to them about requests for access to records that the private body holds. Furthermore, the regulator must submit an annual report to the National Assembly. (See section 84 of PAIA) If the regulator chooses, it can include information about access requests that private bodies receive in its annual report to the National Assembly.
You mustn’t confuse a section 83(4) report with a section 32 PAIA report.
The section 32 PAIA report applies to information officers of public bodies. A Section 83(4) PAIA report applies to the head of a private body.
Who must submit the PAIA section 32 report?
The information officer of a public body.
Public bodies in South Africa only
Public bodies only and not private bodies such as businesses, companies, trusts or sole proprietors. If you are a private body, PAIA still applies to you but do not need to submit a report.
A public body is any:
- department of state or administration in the national, provincial, and local municipalities, or
- other public institutions exercising power in terms of the Constitution, or
- other institution exercising public power or performing a public function in terms of any legislation.
The information officer is responsible for submitting the report. The information officer of a public body is by default the head of the public body. So the head of a department, administration or municipality. They include for example a Director-General, Head of Department, or Municipal Manager.
How must a public body submit the annual PAIA report?
A public body must submit the report through the information regulator’s portal. The information regulator also has a guide to help information officers submit the report correctly.
What happens if you don’t?
There are currently no consequences for non-submission of PAIA annual reports. However, non-submission of these reports by public bodies impedes the regulator’s ability to monitor the implementation of PAIA. The regulator’s effectiveness is hampered as it cannot ensure that the right of access to information is fully exercised. Public bodies that don’t submit annual PAIA reports infringe on the right of access to information and contravene the law.
What must be in the access to information report?
The list of things that a public body must include in the report is set out in section 32 of PAIA.
Actions a public body can take
- Attend our webinar on Submitting your PAIA report.
- Be empowered to comply with PAIA by joining the Michalsons access to information programme.
- Comply with your legal obligation to submit a PAIA section 32 report by asking Michalsons to draft or review the report for you.
- Be up-to-date with the latest law by reading judgment summaries dealing with access to information in South Africa.
- Join our ATI Essentials workshop.
When must they submit the PAIA section 32 report?
Every year, annually, forever.
It makes sense for public bodies to put a process in place to ensure this happens every year. Public bodies should submit their annual reports for each financial period (1 April to 31 March) by the deadline of 30 June.
