Access to Information: the practical implications

You must comply with the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA), because it applies to all organisations.

The word cloud on the right provides an overview of the PAI Act.  From the word cloud you can see that:

• the most important theme is access
• the main role players are the requester on the one hand and a public or private body on the other hand
• it is all about access to information held in records
• a requester needs to request access

In terms of PAIA all private bodies (entities mentioned above as defined in PAIA) and public bodies (mainly state departments and state administrations as defined in PAIA) must give access to their records if a party requests a record in terms of PAIA. It is accordingly important to:

1. understand what a record is;
2. know when you must give access to a record;
3. know when you may refuse access to a record; and
4. have the necessary procedures in place to comply with PAIA.
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   Tags: access to information, PAIA, Promotion of Access to Information Act