PAIA Annual Report Submission – IRSA Compliant

The PAIA Annual Report is a mandatory report submitted to the Information Regulator of South Africa (IRSA) by both public and private bodies, detailing requests for access to information received and how they were handled.

In terms of Section 32 and Section 83(4) of the PAIA Act, all public companies and private companies (especially those listed in the PAIA regulations) are legally required to submit an annual PAIA report to the the Information Regulator South Africa (IRSA).

The following individuals are responsible for submitting an Annual PAIA Report:

• Information Officers (IOs) of public companies.
• Heads of Private Bodies (HPBs): Senior executive or manager responsible for ensuring compliance with PAIA. 
• Deputy Information Officers (DIOs): An employee designated by the Information Officer to assist with compliance and data protection obligations

No, they are not the same.

A PAIA Manual (also known as a Section 51 Manual) is a document that outlines how your organisation will give access to its records. It includes information like the types of records available, how to request access, and the contact details of the Information Officer. This manual must be compiled and published by most private and public bodies.

The PAIA Annual Report is a yearly submission to the Information Regulator. It provides a summary of how your organisation handled actual information requests over the past year of assessment.

Yes. If your business did not receive any formal requests for information during the reporting period, you are still legally required to submit your PAIA Annual Report. Your report will simply reflect that zero requests were received, but it still needs to be submitted to the Information Regulator before the deadline.

Failure to do so could result in non-compliance penalties.

The deadline for submitting the PAIA Annual Report is typically 30 June each year, covering the period from 1 April to 31 March.

Failure to submit may result in non-compliance findings, investigations, or administrative penalties from the Information Regulator. It may also affect the company’s reputation.

The report includes details such as:

• Number of information requests received
• Types of requests
• Whether access was granted or refused
• Grounds for refusal
• Internal appeals (for public bodies)
• Steps taken to promote access to information

Yes. The Information Regulator oversees both PAIA and POPIA, and compliance with PAIA is often reviewed alongside POPIA compliance. Failing one may flag concerns in the other

Absolutely. Many companies choose to outsource PAIA report submission to compliance professionals to ensure accuracy, avoid penalties, and save time and Company Partners is always there to assist.