PAIA Manual

1. Background to this manual

The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”) gives effect to the constitutional right of access to information held by the state or by another person, where that information is required for the exercise or protection of a right. Section 51 of PAIA requires every private body to compile a manual describing the records it holds and how to request access to them.

This manual is Everyday Legal Solutions’ PAIA manual. It is separate from, and works alongside, our Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle personal information under POPIA on a day-to-day basis.

2. About Everyday Legal Solutions

Everyday Legal Solutions is a private body as defined in PAIA. ELS provides legal information, document templates and compliance-awareness tools to South African businesses, freelancers and consumers, from Observatory, Cape Town.

3. Contact details (section 51(1)(a))

Email: hello@everydaylegalsolutions.co.za

4. The Information Officer (section 51(1)(b))

The head of a private body fulfils the Information Officer function under PAIA unless someone else is appointed. This is the same Information Officer named in our Privacy Policy for POPIA purposes, and they handle both PAIA access requests and POPIA rights requests.

Information Officer: hello@everydaylegalsolutions.co.za

5. Guide on how to use PAIA

The Information Regulator has published a guide, in terms of section 10 of PAIA, on how to use the Act, including how to make a request and lodge a complaint. It is available from the Information Regulator: inforegulator.org.za, P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, 2017.

6. Records available without a request

Some information is already published and does not require a PAIA request:

• Our document and package pricing
• Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Sale & Use
• General information about ELS on our About page

7. Records kept under other laws

We also keep records that other laws require, for example tax and VAT records, employment records and company records. These are made available to the people and authorities those laws entitle to them.

8. Categories of records held

ELS holds records in the following categories. Not every record in a category is automatically available; access is assessed against PAIA’s grounds for refusal (for example, another person’s privacy).

9. Processing of personal information

Since PAIA was amended alongside POPIA, this manual also summarises how ELS processes personal information. Full detail is in our Privacy Policy.

• ELS processes personal information to fulfil orders, provide support, and meet legal and tax obligations. Legal Health Check answers are processed in the visitor’s browser and are not stored.
• Personal information is collected directly from the person it relates to, or from their use of our website.
• Recipients include the operators listed in our Privacy Policy: Payfast, our web host and our email delivery service.

10. How to request access to a record

1. Complete the prescribed PAIA request form (Form 2 for a private body), available from the Information Regulator, or ask our Information Officer for a copy.
2. Send the completed form to our Information Officer at the contact details above, with enough detail to identify the record and yourself, and say how you would like to receive it.
3. Pay the request fee set by the PAIA Regulations. We will tell you the current amount, and any reproduction or search fees, when we receive your request.
4. We will respond within the time limit PAIA sets and let you know our decision.

A request may be refused only on grounds PAIA itself allows, such as protecting another person’s privacy or commercially sensitive information. If a request is refused, you have the right to take the matter to the Information Regulator or to court.

11. Availability and updating of this manual

This manual is available on our website at /paia-manual and on request from our Information Officer. We will review and update it as our record-holding changes.