PAIA Annual Report – 30 June 2025 Deadline Fast Approaching
On 6 March 2025, the Information Regulator (South Africa) issued a notice to all public and private bodies in South Africa, reminding them of their legal obligation to submit their PAIA Annual Reports between 1 April and 30 June 2025. Many businesses don’t realise that missing this submission, or failing to have a PAIA manual in place, registering an Information Officer, could flag you for POPIA non-compliance. This opens the door to penalties, investigations, and reputational damage.
If you’ve never submitted a PAIA Report before, or if you’re unsure what the PAIA meaning is or even whether it applies to your business, now is the time to take action and ensure that your business is PAIA and POPI compliant.
In this article, we’ll explain:
- What PAIA is and why the annual report is required.
- How it connects to POPIA and your data privacy responsibilities.
- Who needs to submit and What are the requirements?
- What happens if you don’t comply?
- And how Company Partners can manage the entire process for you.
Meet the Deadline, Stress-Free
Company Partners is ready to help you meet the deadline stress-free. Our Expert PAIA Services help you navigate PAIA compliance with ease.
What is PAIA?
The Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000, commonly referred to as PAIA, enables South Africans to access records held by public and private bodies (companies), ensuring transparency and accountability across all sectors. It gives effect to the constitutional right to access information and promotes good governance by allowing individuals to request records that impact their rights.
Why the PAIA Annual Report is required?
What is the Link between PAIA and POPI Compliance?
Both PAIA and POPIA are enforced by the Information Regulator and aim to ensure transparency and responsible data handling.
These two laws work hand in hand:
- PAIA is about how your company shares information when it’s requested.
- POPIA is about how your company protects personal information in general.
Submitting your PAIA Annual Report shows the Regulator how your business handles requests for access to information. If you don’t submit, or submit incorrectly, it may signal that your business is not compliant with POPIA either – especially if you haven’t registered an Information Officer.
Who Needs to Submit PAIA Annual Reports?
In terms of Section 32 (for public bodies) and Section 83(4) (for private bodies) of PAIA, the following individuals must submit an Annual PAIA Report:
- Information Officers (IOs) of public bodies
- Heads of Private Bodies (HPBs) or Deputy Information Officers (DIOs)
An Information Officer (IO) is the person officially responsible for ensuring your business complies with both PAIA and POPIA. Every public and private body in South Africa is required by law to appoint one.
For most small businesses, the business owner or managing director automatically becomes the Information Officer — but you must still register this appointment with the Information Regulator before you can submit your PAIA report. This is a POPIA requirement – and a step many businesses overlook.
Register Your IO – Fast & Easy
Need Help to Register you Information Officer? Our IO Experts can assist to register your Information Officer with the Information Regulator – Online, Easy and Fast!
What are Requirements to Submit Your PAIA Report?
To complete your PAIA Annual Report, you’ll need to provide a summary of how your organisation handled information requests during the reporting period.
The report includes details such as:
- Number of information requests received.
- Types of requests received.
- Whether access was granted or refused.
- Grounds for refusal.
- Internal appeals (for public bodies).
- Steps taken to promote access to information.
How to Submit Your PAIA Annual Report
For the 2024/25 period (1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025), reports must be submitted to the Information Regulator.
This can be done directly via their online portal, or you can use professional PAIA services to ensure accurate submission – as the process can be time-consuming and takes a measure of expertise.
Important:
- IOs, HPBs, and DIOs must be registered with the Regulator before submitting a report.
- A step-by-step submission and registration guide is available on the portal and on https://inforegulator.org.za.
We Handle Your PAIA Report – Start to Finish
Company Partners offers a hassle-free PAIA Annual Report Submission service—we handle the entire process for you, ensuring full compliance, accuracy, and peace of mind.
What Happens If You Don’t Submit?
How Company Partners Help You Submit on Time
Navigating PAIA compliance can be technical, time-consuming, and easy to get wrong — especially with registration requirements, portal logins, and strict deadlines. That’s where Company Partners steps in.
