Annual PAIA Report Lodgement
- Sanet Riekert
- 10 hours ago
- 1 min read
I interview legal advisor Marizanne Augustinus about a commonly overlooked legal obligation for medical practices in South Africa.
The Legal Obligation
Every medical practice is required to submit an annual PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) report to the Information Regulator of South Africa, due by 30 June each year.
Who Must Submit
The report must be submitted by the head of the private body (CEO, sole proprietor, director, or medical practitioner). Alternatively, an appointed deputy information officer can submit on their behalf.
Registration Requirement
Before submitting, the responsible person must be registered on the Information Regulator's eServices portal as the information officer. Without registration, submission is not possible.
How to Submit Log in to the eServices portal with registered credentials, verify via OTP, then complete the report by answering questions about:
Number of requests received
Requests granted
Requests refused (and grounds for refusal)
Pending requests
What Counts as a "Request" – Only formal written PAIA requests count. General customer queries, verbal requests, or social media requests do not qualify.
Zero Submissions Still Required
Even if a practice received no formal requests during the reporting period, they are still legally obligated to submit the report (entering zero where applicable). Failing to do so is a breach of legal obligation.
