PAIA Manual

PAIA Manual

Effective date: 16 September 2026 · Last reviewed: 16 September 2026

This Manual is published by Omni Digital Studio in terms of section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA). It explains what records the business holds, which of them are available without a formal request, and how to ask for access to the rest.

It is written in plain English, and it is deliberately factual. Where a statement is a statutory requirement it says so; where a statement is a current business fact it describes only what is true today; and where something is future or conditional it is labelled as such. This Manual is not legal advice and makes no claim of any exemption, certification, attorney review or regulator approval.

1. Purpose of this Manual

This Manual is intended to help the public to:

• see the categories of records held by Omni Digital Studio that are available without a formal PAIA request;
• understand how to request access to a record, and the subjects on which records are held;
• see the records that are available in terms of other legislation;
• find the contact details of the Information Officer who assists with access requests;
• find the Guide on how to use PAIA, and how to obtain it;
• understand, in relation to personal information, the purpose of processing, the categories of data subjects and information, the recipients to whom it may be supplied, any planned transborder flows, and the general security measures in place.

2. Details of the private body

• Name: Omni Digital Studio (a working name)
• Structure: a sole proprietorship — a natural-person private body under PAIA. It is not a company, and no company registration number applies to it.
• Nature of the business: an online-only provider of digital services (see section 3). It has no storefront, no separate commercial premises and no employees.
• Website: https://omni-digital-studio.pages.dev

Formal business registration details, where applicable, will be recorded here if and when they are established.

3. Business activities

• Website design and development
• E-commerce websites (WordPress / WooCommerce)
• Website maintenance, repair and ongoing support (care plans)
• AI and business automation, including AI assistants and chatbots
• Search engine optimisation (SEO) and local SEO, including Google Business Profile services
• Digital and video creative

The website is enquiry-only. It does not process payments, take orders or operate an online checkout.

4. Contact details of the head of the body (Information Officer)

• Information Officer: Owner / Information Officer
• Deputy Information Officer: None
• Email: damian.neveling@gmail.com
• Telephone: 060 825 2176
• Fax: None
• Postal address: Phlox Place, Pretoria, South-Africa
• Physical (street) address: Phlox Place, Pretoria, South-Africa

The Information Officer was registered with the Information Regulator (South Africa) on 16 September 2026.

5. Guide on how to use PAIA

In terms of section 10 of PAIA, the Information Regulator has published a Guide on how to use PAIA. The Guide explains the objects of PAIA and POPIA, how to make a request, the assistance available, and the remedies in law. It is available in all official languages and in braille.

You can obtain the Guide from the Information Regulator (see section 17), or on request from our Information Officer (see section 4).

6. Records held and categories of records

Omni Digital Studio is small and operates online only. The records below are described truthfully: where a category is future or conditional, that is stated.

• Website and public content — the pages and files that make up this website, and this Manual. Current.
• Enquiry and contact records — messages you send through the enquiry form (which are delivered to us through the Basin form service), and the correspondence that follows. Current.
• Quotations and business correspondence — estimates, proposals and related email or WhatsApp messages. Current, where a quote has been prepared.
• Project and service records — briefs, deliverables and related notes for work undertaken. Conditional: held only when a project is accepted. No clients are currently recorded.
• Invoices and accounting records — Conditional / when applicable: held as and when services are invoiced, in line with record-keeping and tax obligations. This website does not invoice or take payments.
• Statutory and business records — Conditional / when applicable: records required by law, such as tax records, if and when the business is registered for the relevant obligations.
• Employee records — None. The business has no employees.
• Client database — None. No client database exists.
• PAIA request records — None to date. No PAIA requests have been received.

7. Records available without a formal request

Section 52 of PAIA allows a private body to make certain categories of records automatically available. Omni Digital Studio makes the following available without a PAIA request:

• this Manual, published on this website; and
• the public content of this website.

No other category is made automatically available, and no section 52 notice describing automatically available records has been published. Anything else must be requested using the procedure in section 8.

8. How to request access to a record

1. A request for access to a record of a private body must be made on the prescribed form — Form 02: Request for Access to Record (Regulation 7 of the PAIA Regulations, 2021). See section 9 for a link.
2. Address the request to our Information Officer (contact details in section 4).
3. Identify the record or records you want, and specify the right you wish to exercise or protect and why the record is required for that purpose (this is required for requests to a private body under section 50 of PAIA).
4. Pay any prescribed request fee (if applicable) — the Information Officer will notify you of the fee before the request is processed further.
5. The Information Officer will notify you of the outcome, and of any fees payable, on the prescribed form — Form 03: Outcome of request and of fees payable (Regulation 8).
6. If access is granted, the record is made available in the form you asked for, once any prescribed access fee is paid.

Old forms: the PAIA Regulations were amended in 2021. The former PAIA "Form C" was repealed and replaced by Form 02 (see the Information Regulator's compliance notice of 6 October 2023). Please use the current forms in section 9.

9. Prescribed forms

We link to the official forms published by the Information Regulator rather than republishing them:

• Form 02 — Request for Access to Record (Regulation 7; public and private bodies)
• Form 03 — Outcome of request and of fees payable (Regulation 8; public and private bodies)
• Form 05 — Complaint to the Regulator (Regulation 10; for complaints — see section 11)

Form 04 (Internal Appeal) applies only to public bodies and is not used by Omni Digital Studio.

10. Fees

Fees that may be charged for access to records are prescribed by the PAIA Regulations and published by the Information Regulator; they are not set by Omni Digital Studio. They may include a request fee (where applicable), an access fee, and a prescribed reproduction fee per A4 photocopy for a copy of this Manual. The current schedule is published by the Regulator at the PAIA Fees Structure.

As at the effective date of this Manual, no PAIA fees have been charged, because no PAIA requests have been received.

11. Remedies if a request is refused or not answered

• Complain to the Information Regulator using Form 05, at complaints.IR@inforegulator.org.za.
• Apply to a court for appropriate relief.

An internal appeal applies only to decisions of public bodies; it is not available against a private body such as Omni Digital Studio.

12. Relationship with POPIA and your personal information

PAIA and POPIA do different jobs. PAIA governs access to records — how you ask for a record, and how we respond. POPIA governs how personal information is protected and processed, and gives you rights over your own personal information.

Your POPIA rights — including the right to ask what personal information we hold about you (section 23), to ask us to correct or delete it (section 24), and to complain to the Information Regulator (section 74) — are described in our Privacy Policy. Nothing in this Manual reduces or limits those rights.

13. Processing of personal information

This section reflects the POPIA information required in a PAIA Manual for a private body. It is consistent with our Privacy Policy, which provides more detail.

• Purpose of processing: to respond to enquiries, prepare quotes or proposals, and deliver and support agreed services.
• Categories of data subjects: people who enquire about our services, and — when work is undertaken — clients; and service providers or contractors where relevant.
• Categories of personal information: names and business names, email addresses, phone or WhatsApp numbers, budget/timeline details, and the project information provided in an enquiry or during an engagement.
• Recipients or categories of recipients: the owner (Information Officer); processors used to run the business, such as the Basin form service and email/hosting providers; and authorities where the law requires disclosure.
• Planned transborder flows: enquiry submissions are processed through the Basin form service outside South Africa, as described in the Privacy Policy (section 4).
• Information security measures: collection of only the minimum information; encrypted (HTTPS) transmission; access limited to the business owner; a honeypot spam-protection field on the form; and periodic security review of the website. See the Privacy Policy (section 7).

14. Availability of this Manual

In terms of section 51(3) of PAIA, this Manual is available:

• on this website, at /paia/;
• to any person on request, subject to any prescribed fee per A4 photocopy; and
• to the Information Regulator on request.

Omni Digital Studio operates online and has no separate public office or commercial premises. The Manual is therefore published and made available online, and can be provided on request.

15. Updating this Manual

Section 51(2) of PAIA requires the head of a private body to update the Manual on a regular basis. This Manual will be reviewed and updated when the business's records, activities or contact details change.

16. Effective date, review and contact

• Effective date: 16 September 2026
• Last reviewed: 16 September 2026
• Contact for this Manual: the Information Officer at damian.neveling@gmail.com or 060 825 2176.

17. Information Regulator contact details

• Physical address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001
• Postal address: P.O. Box 31533, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2017
• Telephone: 010 023 5200 · Toll free 0800 017 160
• Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
• Website: inforegulator.org.za

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