PAIA Manual

Manual in terms of section 51 of PAIA · Last updated: 9 September 2026

This manual is published by Blue Haven Interior Design in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 ("PAIA"). It explains what records we hold and how you may request access to them. Every private body in South Africa is required to have such a manual and to make it available.

1. Particulars of the private body

2. The PAIA Guide published by the Information Regulator

Section 10 of PAIA requires the Information Regulator to publish a plain-language guide explaining how to use the Act. The guide is available in all official languages and explains how to exercise your rights under PAIA. You can obtain it from:

3. Records available without a formal PAIA request

The following records are freely available and do not require a PAIA request. Simply ask us, or find them on this website:

• Our service descriptions, specialisations and design process.
• Our portfolio of completed projects.
• Our contact details and business hours.
• This PAIA Manual, our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.
• Any quotation, design proposal, invoice or agreement that we issued to you personally — we will simply send you another copy on request.

No notice has been published in terms of section 52(2) of PAIA in respect of categories of records automatically available without a request.

4. Categories of records we hold

We are a small design studio and our records are correspondingly limited. Records are held in electronic form and, in some cases, on paper.

5. Records held in terms of other legislation

We hold or may hold records in terms of, among others:

• Income Tax Act 58 of 1962
• Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (if and when VAT registered)
• Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011
• Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013
• Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008
• Basic Conditions of Employment Act 75 of 1997 and related labour legislation (if and when we employ staff)
• Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, in respect of site work

6. How to request access to a record

Step 1 — Complete the prescribed form

A request must be made on the prescribed form for a request for access to a record of a private body, published in the Regulations to PAIA. The form is available free of charge from the Information Regulator's website at inforegulator.org.za, or we will email it to you on request.

Step 2 — Give us enough detail

Your request must:

• provide sufficient particulars to enable us to identify the record and to identify you as the requester;
• state the form of access you want (for example, a copy by email, a printed copy, or an inspection);
• give an address or email address in the Republic to which we must send our decision;
• identify the right you are seeking to exercise or protect, and explain why the record you are asking for is required to exercise or protect that right. Section 50 of PAIA makes this a requirement for records held by a private body;
• if you are making the request on someone else's behalf, include proof of your authority to do so.

Step 3 — Send it to us

Send the completed form to info@bluehavendesigns.co.za, or deliver it to our physical address, marked for the attention of the Information Officer.

Step 4 — Fees

PAIA provides for a request fee and an access fee, both prescribed in the Regulations and published by the Information Regulator. In summary:

• A request fee is payable when you lodge the request, before we process it. We will confirm the current prescribed amount when you submit your request.
• An access fee covers the cost of searching for, preparing, reproducing and sending the record. Where this is likely to be significant, we will send you a written deposit request and a cost estimate before proceeding, and you may withdraw the request at that point.
• No fee is payable for a request for your own personal information, other than the cost of reproducing and delivering it.
• Fees are payable by electronic transfer to banking details we will provide on request.

Step 5 — Our decision

We will notify you of our decision within 30 days of receiving the request. That period may be extended by a further 30 days where the request is for a large number of records or requires a search through records held at another location, in which case we will tell you in writing and explain why. If we do not respond within the applicable period, the request is regarded as having been refused.

7. Grounds on which we may refuse a request

PAIA obliges us to refuse access in certain circumstances, and permits it in others. Chapter 4 of Part 3 of the Act sets these out in full. The grounds most likely to be relevant to us are:

• Section 63 — privacy of a third party. We must refuse access where it would unreasonably disclose personal information about someone else, such as another client or a member of our team.
• Section 64 — commercial information of a third party. Trade secrets, financial or commercial information of a supplier or client, or information supplied in confidence that could prejudice them in negotiations.
• Section 65 — breach of a duty of confidence owed to a third party under an agreement.
• Section 66 — safety of individuals and protection of property. For example, security details of a client's residence.
• Section 67 — privileged records in legal proceedings.
• Section 68 — our own commercial information, including our design methods, pricing structures, supplier terms and trade secrets, where disclosure would harm our commercial or financial interests.
• Section 69 — research information of ours or of a third party.
• Section 70 — the public interest override. Even where a ground for refusal applies, we must grant access if disclosure would reveal a substantial contravention of the law or an imminent and serious public safety or environmental risk, and the public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs the harm.

If we refuse, we will tell you in writing, give adequate reasons, identify the provision of PAIA we rely on, and inform you of your right to take the matter further.

8. If you are unhappy with our decision

There is no internal appeal against a decision of a private body. If your request is refused, or you are unhappy with the fee charged, the form of access given or an extension we have taken, you may:

• lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator in terms of section 77A of PAIA, on the prescribed complaint form, within 180 days of the decision; or
• apply to a court with jurisdiction, in terms of section 78 of PAIA, for appropriate relief.

Complaints to the Regulator may be sent to PAIA.complaints@inforegulator.org.za.

9. Requests for your own personal information

If you simply want to know what personal information we hold about you, or you want it corrected or deleted, you usually do not need to go through the full PAIA process. Email info@bluehavendesigns.co.za and we will deal with it under our Privacy Policy. We will only ask you to use the formal PAIA procedure where the request is complex or where third-party information is involved.

10. Availability of this manual

This manual is available free of charge on this website, and on request by email or in printed form at our physical address. It is reviewed and updated as necessary.