The Information Regulator has published a compliance notice asking public and private bodies to ensure they provide the correct, updated Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) forms on their websites.
The use of the outdated forms is hampering the right of access to information, the Regulator’s notice of 6 October said.
The following forms were repealed when the new PAIA Regulations were gazetted in August 2021:
- Form A (Request for access to record of a public body);
- Form B (Notice of internal appeal); and
- Form C (Request for access to record of private body).
The information officers of public and private bodies must ensure that the following prescribed forms are uploaded on their websites:
- Form 2: Request for access to record – public and private bodies;
- Form 3: Outcome of request and of fees payable – public and private bodies; and
- Form 4: Internal appeal – public bodies only.
Form 2 deals with a requester’s request for access to a record in terms of Regulation 7. The new form contains three changes compared to the old version:
- Requesters can request a copy of a record that has been stored on a cloud server.
- The manner of access to information have been expanded to include cloud share or file transfer to the requester.
- Requesters can specify how they would like to be informed whether their request has been approved or denied. The option to select postage to the requester’s street address has been deleted and replaced with the option for the requester to be informed by means of electronic communication.
Form 3 deals with the outcome of the requester’s request and the fees payable in respect thereof (Regulation 8).
Form 4 is an internal appeal form for public bodies only, whereby a requester or a third party acting on a requester’s behalf may lodge an internal appeal against a decision regarding the requester’s request for access to information (Regulation 9).
