PAIA Requests

ODAC have been at the forefront of utilising the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA) since the inception of the law. Through our experience, we can now advise members of the public on how to best submit a request. Further, we are forwarding access to information through the development of an online portal for making such requests - read more about our askAFRICA project here. You can download your own copy of the PAIA Act here.

 

If you wish to make a request for information from a public body, you will need to do so on a PAIA Form A. If you wish to make a request to a private body, you will need to do so on a Form C. And if you want to submit an internal appeal against a refusal for information by a public body, you will be prescribed to submit a Form B. We are currently in the process of developing an easy "how to guide". You can download the necessary forms for making a request here:

• PAIA Form A - request form for a public body
• PAIA Form B - form for submitting an internal appeal to a public body
• PAIA Form C - request form for a private body.

You can download our SIMPLE infographic on how to make a PAIA request in 8 simple steps here.

We also have a simple guide on how to implement PAIA request processes within your organisation (that can also assist individual requesters).

For years ODAC have been promoting the use of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (PAIA). This work has involved not only encouraging members of the public to use the Act, but also using it ourselves in the strategic pursuit of transparency. We have accomplished some great successes with PAIA - yet it is only know that we are sharing our best practices on implementing PAIA within your own organisation, to encourage other actors to engage more readily with the Act as well.

Our motivation for doing so is quite straightforward: we believe that, the more departments are forced to engage with PAIA through requests, the more likely it is they will implement systems to deal with PAIA that will eventually lead to more effective and responsive behaviour. The Guide is short and pragmatic - but we hope are brief attempts to outline some best practice will encourage other organisations to engage in an act we believe to be of immense public good.

Download the implementation guide here.