The Information Regulator has confirmed that all private and public bodies (including those currently exempt) must have a PAIA manual. Even though PAIA applies to everyone, not all organisations are the same or have the same level of public interest. If the public has a low level of interest in your organisation, then there is not much that you need to do. Work through this post to see what you should and shouldn’t do. Most importantly, don’t panic. No one is going to jail. There is a lot of noise about PAIA and almost all of it is not intended for you. There are some things you can do that will cost you nothing and everything will be fine. Don’t get persuaded into buying some PAIA manual, toolkit, training, document or solution that you don’t need.

What if the public is not interested in your records?

Some organisations may not have many records that the public wishes to access, and the impact of PAIA on them is probably low. They usually have these characteristics:

  • They might be smaller organisations like sole traders or CCs.
  • They have few records that relate to other people.
  • No one has ever asked for access to their information.
  • They don’t deal with the type of information anyone else would have much interest in.

Determine whether you are a low public interest organisation by completing the public interest self-assessment. If you’re a high public interest organisation or a public body, consider joining our access to information programme. If you’re a low public interest organisation, then keep reading.

Typical examples of low public interest organisations

  • Beauty service providers (like a hair salon)
  • Small farms (like dairy farms)
  • Small physical retail stores (like selling ice cream to the public from a physical store)
  • Take away food shop or restaurant (like a fish and chips shop or pizzeria)
  • Coffee shop or cafe (like the picture above)
  • Guesthouses or Airbnbs (like someone who rents out four rooms)

So you’re a low public interest organisation. What you should do?

There are three things you need to right now.

  1. Register your information officer with the Information Regulator
  2. Submit your PAIA Section 83(4) report by 30 June annually. You will probably be able to respond with a zero to all the fields or questions in the report. But actually submitting the report can be quite tricky. If you struggle, Michalsons can do it for you for a fee – enquire now.
  3. Get a PAIA manual – it takes 10 minutes, and it costs nothing. Follow the instructions below.

Complete the form below and we will email you the Michalsons Lean PAIA Manual for Private Bodies that you can download. You can also download the regulator’s PAIA manual template that has shortcomings, which is why we’ve made a simpler manual so you can do it faster.

Download our Lean PAIA Manual (Automatic)

Once you have downloaded the manual, please do the following:

  1. Upload it to your website and add a link to it in the footer of your website.
  2. Make sure you have contact details on your website, including the name and contact details of your information officer. It’s the head of your business – like the shareholder, sole proprietor, or main partner or member.
  3. Register your information officer online with the regulator (if you have not already done this for POPIA).
  4. Wait for someone to request access to the information you hold. It will probably never happen.
  5. If you have questions and can’t find answers on our website, contact the regulator.

Have a cup of coffee and focus on your business.

If you are a low public interest organisation for PAIA, you’re probably also a low-risk small business for POPIA and you can read what you should and shouldn’t do for POPIA.

What you should NOT do if you’re a low public-interest organisation

  1. Panic or let this issue give you anxiety. There are enough other important things to worry about.
  2. Send your PAIA Manual to anyone – not the SAHRC nor the regulator.
  3. Pay someone money to draft a manual for you.
  4. Pay for an online generator to generate one for you.
  5. Buy an online PAIA Manual template.
  6. Hire a law firm or consultant to make you PAIA compliant.
  7. Join any programme or project (like the Michalsons programme) or buy any toolkit or solution. You simply don’t need it.
  8. Attend a workshop.

Just tick the box as you should really be exempt anyway.

It is a criminal offence not to have a manual – the law does not say it must be a comprehensive and complex one

For example, if you sell tomatoes in an informal settlement, you will have virtually no records and almost certainly no records that the public will be interested in. You don’t need a complex manual – just a manual because otherwise, you commit a criminal offence. Legal guidance by its nature is intended for a large, diverse audience – it does not deal with a specific client’s specific issue. Because of this, our guidance comes with a disclaimer. This article is published for general guidance purposes only. The content does not constitute specific legal advice.