PAIA Manual

Last updated: 26 October 2026

This manual is published under section 51 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (PAIA), as amended by the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA). It explains what records Find a Hypnotist keeps and how you can ask for access to them.

1. About Find a Hypnotist

Find a Hypnotist (www.findahypnotist.co.za) is an online directory of hypnotherapists, hypnotists and training schools in South Africa. It is privately owned by Heather Vorster as a sole proprietor; it is not a company. It is a private body as defined in PAIA. It has no employees.

2. Contact Details of the Head, Information Officer and Admin Officer

Heather Vorster is the owner and head of Find a Hypnotist, and is its Information Officer. Derek Vorster is the Admin Officer and handles requests on her behalf. All requests under PAIA and POPIA should be sent to:

3. The Information Regulator's Guide

The Information Regulator has published a guide on how to use PAIA and POPIA, as required by section 10 of PAIA. It explains your rights and how to exercise them. You can get it from the Information Regulator, free of charge, in any official language:

• Website: inforegulator.org.za
• Email: enquiries@inforegulator.org.za
• Phone: 010 023 5200
• Address: Woodmead North Office Park, 54 Maxwell Drive, Woodmead, Johannesburg, 2191

4. Records Available Without a Formal Request

The following are freely available on the website and do not require a PAIA request:

• Approved practitioner and training school listings, as published in the directory
• The Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions
• Frequently asked questions and information about how the directory works
• Articles published on the blog
• This PAIA manual

5. Records Kept Under Other Laws

Where applicable, records are kept in terms of the following laws:

• Consumer Protection Act, 2008
• Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002
• Income Tax Act, 1962
• Tax Administration Act, 2011
• Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000
• Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013

6. Categories of Records Held

• Listing records: listing submissions from practitioners and training schools, including approved, pending and rejected submissions, photos, logos and the notes made when reviewing them
• Qualification certificates: copies of certificates uploaded by practitioners, kept in a restricted area that only the site administrator can open, and never published
• Correspondence: emails with practitioners, schools and members of the public, including concerns reported about listings
• Outreach records: names and business contact details of practitioners and schools invited to list, collected from publicly available sources such as professional directories and their own websites
• Financial records: listing fee invoices and payments, bank statements and tax records
• Website records: blog comments, and technical logs kept by the hosting provider for security purposes

7. How Personal Information Is Processed (POPIA)

Purpose: personal information is processed to review and publish directory listings, keep listings accurate, deal with concerns about listings, invite practitioners and schools to list, manage listing fees, run the blog, keep the website secure, and meet legal and tax obligations.

Categories of people and their information:

• Practitioners: name, profession, business name, province, qualifications, services, business address, phone, email, website, biography, photo, logo and qualification certificates
• Training schools: contact person's name, school details, accreditation and affiliations, courses, address, phone, email, website, description and logo
• Practitioners and schools invited to list: name and publicly available business contact details
• Members of the public: anyone who emails us (name, email and message); blog commenters (name, email address, comment, IP address and browser details). Visitors do not need to give any personal information to search the directory.

Who receives the information: the public, for the details shown on an approved listing (as set out in the Privacy Policy); Domains.co.za, which hosts the website, database and email; and public authorities such as the South African Revenue Service or a court, where the law requires it. Information is not sold or rented to anyone.

Information sent outside South Africa: the website, database and email are hosted in South Africa. Personal information is not routinely sent outside South Africa. If that changes, it will be done only as POPIA section 72 allows, and the Privacy Policy will be updated.

Security measures: secure (HTTPS) connections, a password-protected administration area, qualification certificates stored in a restricted area that cannot be reached from the public website, access to records limited to the owner and the Admin Officer, and deletion of certificates when a listing is removed.

8. How to Request Access to a Record

1. Complete Form 02: Request for Access to Record, available on the Information Regulator's PAIA forms page or from us on request.
2. Send it to the Information Officer by email or to the address in section 2.
3. Give enough detail to identify the record, and say which right you are exercising or protecting and why the record is needed for it.
4. If you are asking on behalf of someone else, include proof that you are authorised to do so.
5. If you cannot read or write, or have a disability, you may make the request orally and we will help you complete the form.

Your own personal information: if you only want to know what personal information we hold about you, or want it corrected or deleted (for example, your listing), you do not need the formal PAIA procedure. Simply email admin@findahypnotist.co.za; there is no charge for this.

Fees: for other requests, PAIA allows a request fee and an access fee (for copying and preparing records), at the amounts set in the PAIA Regulations. You will be told of any fee before your request is processed. A fee is not charged where you are requesting your own personal information.

Timeframe: you will be told of the decision within 30 days of receiving the request. This period may be extended once, by up to 30 more days, where the law allows; you will be told if that happens and why.

9. Grounds for Refusing Access

PAIA requires or allows a private body to refuse access in certain cases, including where releasing the record would:

• Unreasonably disclose personal information about another person, such as another practitioner's certificates or contact details (section 63)
• Disclose confidential commercial information of a third party (section 64) or information supplied in confidence (section 65)
• Endanger someone's life or physical safety, or the security of property (section 66)
• Disclose a record that is privileged from production in legal proceedings (section 67)
• Disclose commercial information of the directory that could cause it harm (section 68)

Where part of a record can be released, it will be, with the protected parts removed.

10. If Your Request Is Refused

There is no internal appeal in a private body. If you are unhappy with a decision, you may lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator within 180 days, or apply to court.

11. Availability and Updates

This manual is available on the website and, free of charge, on request from the Information Officer. It will be updated whenever the information in it changes.