Information Regulator Reports on PAIA Compliance and Enforcement

Posted 19 December 2025 Written by Acts Online
Category Regulatory

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The Information Regulator (IR) has issued an update regarding compliance outcomes following 80 assessments conducted across the public and private sectors.

In terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, No. 2 of 2000 (PAIA), the Regulator evaluated the compliance status of various entities, including social media companies, Parliament, provincial legislatures, constitutional bodies, and medical schemes. A primary finding of these assessments is the continued failure by many bodies to make PAIA manuals publicly accessible. Under the Act, the failure to maintain and publish an accessible manual is a criminal offence that obstructs the constitutional right of access to information.

The Regulator also highlighted the widespread non-submission of PAIA annual reports. These reports are mandatory for monitoring purposes and must detail the number of access requests received, as well as the number of requests granted or denied. While there was a marginal improvement in submissions for the 2024/25 period, the following statistics were recorded:

  • Private Bodies: 91,096 reports were received, a significant increase from the 34,460 reports submitted in the 2023/24 period.
  • Public Bodies: The submission rate rose to 41.66% (358 out of 853 bodies), compared to 33% in the previous year.
  • Municipalities: Only 69 out of 257 municipalities submitted reports, representing a 27% submission rate.
  • TVET Colleges: Only six out of 50 Technical and Vocational Education and Training colleges complied with the reporting requirement.
  • Provincial Government Business Enterprises: Submissions declined from 33% to 28%.

Proposed Legislative Reforms

The Information Regulator is currently developing proposals to reform the Promotion of Access to Information Act, No. 2 of 2000. These amendments are intended to align the Act with the digital era and significantly bolster the Regulator’s enforcement capabilities. Proposed changes include the power to impose direct administrative fines and other sanctions on entities that contravene the provisions of PAIA.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: You must ensure you are aware of the potential criminal liability associated with the role of Information Officer or Deputy Information Officer if your organisation fails to maintain a compliant PAIA manual.
  • For your business: Your firm must verify that its PAIA manual is current, available at its offices, and published on its website; additionally, you must confirm that the 2024/25 annual report has been successfully filed with the Regulator to mitigate the risk of enforcement action.
  • For your clients: You should advise clients—particularly those in the public sector or municipal space—that the Regulator is intensifying its monitoring of annual report submissions and that future reforms are likely to introduce heavy administrative fines for non-compliance.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/information-regulator-update-re-paia-compliance-outcomes

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