PAIA Manual

1. Particulars of the body

This manual is published in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA), as required of every private body, and is available on this website and at our premises for inspection free of charge.

• Name of body: School Of Fashion
• Head of the body and Information Officer: Rishka Samsodien, Founder and Head of School
• Physical and postal address: Avondale, Parow, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
• Telephone: (081) 330-8775
• Electronic mail: info@schooloffashion.co.za
• Website: schooloffashion.co.za

2. The Guide by the Information Regulator

Section 10 of PAIA requires the Information Regulator to publish a guide on how to use the Act. The guide is available from the Information Regulator of South Africa at inforeg.org.za, by email at inforeg@justice.gov.za, or on 010 023 5200, and may be inspected at our premises on request.

3. Records we hold

We hold the following categories of records, in respect of the courses, workshops and supplies we provide:

• Enrolment records: names, contact details, course selections, sewing experience, attendance and assessment notes for students.
• Financial records: invoices, payments, credit notes, bank and payment-gateway reconciliations, and the accounting records required by the Companies Act and tax legislation.
• Student and course records: course material, patterns developed by us, class registers, and correspondence with students.
• Personnel records: contracts, payroll and leave records for staff and contracted instructors.
• Supplier and service-provider records: contracts, quotes and correspondence.
• Marketing records: enquiries, subscriber lists and correspondence relating to marketing.
• Website and system records: server logs, enquiry form submissions and records of consent.
• Insurance, lease and statutory records relating to the premises.

4. Records available without a formal request

The following are available without a PAIA request, because they are published or freely provided: this manual, our published course information, our terms and conditions, our privacy and POPIA policy, and any information voluntarily disclosed about our courses in response to an enquiry.

5. Records available in terms of other legislation

Certain records are available in terms of other laws, including the Consumer Protection Act, 2008, the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013, the Income Tax Act, 1962, the Value-Added Tax Act, 1991, the Labour Relations Act, 1995 and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997. Where a record is available under another law, this manual does not limit that access.

6. How to request a record

Requests must be made on the prescribed form — Form 2 of the PAIA regulations — and may be delivered by hand, sent by email to the Information Officer, or posted to the address above. The request must identify the record wanted, state the form of access required, and give enough detail for us to find it.

Requests for your own personal information are made under the Protection of Personal Information Act rather than PAIA, and can simply be emailed to the Information Officer.

Our Information Officer is Rishka Samsodien. We will acknowledge your request and answer it within 30 days, as the Act requires, unless it is a request for a record that would take longer to locate, in which case we will tell you in writing before the 30 days are up.

• Written notice of the outcome of a request will state the fee payable, if any, and the form in which access will be given.
• Where a request is refused, the notice will state the grounds for refusal and the remedy available to you.

7. Fees

Fees are charged as prescribed in the PAIA regulations: an application fee of R35,00, and a per-page fee for copying and for printed copies (R1,10 per page) together with any reasonable charge for posting or for providing the record in another form. Where the search for a record takes longer than the prescribed period, a further fee may be charged at the prescribed hourly rate.

You will be told the amount before any fee is paid, and access is given once the fee has been paid. Fees are waived where the requester is unable to pay and the record is required to exercise a right, as the regulations provide.

8. Grounds for refusal

A request may be refused on the grounds set out in Chapter 4 of PAIA. In practice the grounds most likely to apply to us are:

• that the record contains the personal information of a third party, including another student or a staff member;
• that the record contains commercial information of a third party, or our own commercial information, the disclosure of which would cause harm;
• that the record is a record of a third party and its disclosure would breach a duty of confidence owed to that party;
• that the record does not exist, or cannot be found after a reasonable search;
• that the request is manifestly frivolous, vexatious or repetitious.

9. Remedies

If you are not satisfied with our decision, you may apply to a court for relief, or lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator: inforeg.org.za, complaints.IR@justice.gov.za, or 010 023 5200. You may also complain to the Regulator about how we have handled your personal information, under the Protection of Personal Information Act.

10. How this manual is kept up to date

This manual is reviewed whenever our records, our Information Officer or our contact details change, and at least once a year. The version on this page is the current one. It is also available for inspection at our premises during business hours, free of charge, and a copy may be requested from the Information Officer.

Any complaint or question about this manual may be addressed to Rishka Samsodien at the contact details above.