Page:Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000.djvu/15



that the information officer or another official identified by the information officer would assist that requester in order to make the request in a form that would remove the grounds for refusal;

given the requester a reasonable opportunity to seek such assistance;

as far as reasonably possible, furnished the requester with any information (including information about the records, other than information on the basis of which a request for access may or must be refused in terms of any provision of Chapter 4 of this Part, held by the body which are relevant to the request) that would assist the making of the request in that form; and

given the requester a reasonable opportunity to confirm the request or alter it to comply with section 18(1).

(3) When computing any period referred to in section 25(1), the period commencing on the date on which notice is given in terms of subsection (2) and ending on the date on which the person confirms or alters the request for access concerned must be disregarded.

(4) If it is apparent on receipt of a request for access that it should have been made to another public body, the information officer of the public body concerned must—

render such assistance as is necessary to enable the person to make the request, to the information officer of the appropriate public body; or

transfer the request in accordance with section 20 to the last-mentioned information officer,

whichever will result in the request being dealt with earlier.

Transfer of requests

20. (1) If a request for access is made to the information officer of a public body in respect of which—

the record is not in the possession or under the control of that body but is in the possession of another public body;

the record's subject matter is more closely connected with the functions of another public body than those of the public body of the information officer to whom the request is made; or

the record contains commercial information contemplated in section 42 in which any other public body has a greater commercial interest,

the information officer to whom the request is made must as soon as reasonably possible, but in any event within 14 days after the request is received—

transfer the request to the information officer of the other public body or, if there is in the case of paragraph (c) more than one other public body having a commercial interest, the other public body with the greatest commercial interest; and

if the public body of the information officer to whom the request is made is in possession of the record and considers it helpful to do so to enable the information officer of the other public body to deal with the request, send the record or a copy of the record to that information officer.

(2) If a request for access is made to the information officer of a public body in respect of which—

the record is not in the possession or under the control of the public body of that information officer and the information officer does not know which public body has possession or control of the record;

the record's subject matter is not closely connected to the functions of the public body of that information officer and the information officer does not know whether the record is more closely connected with the functions of another public body than those of the public body of the information officer to whom the request is made; and

the record—

was created by or for another public body; or

was not so created by or for any public body, but was received first by another public body,

the information officer to whom the request is made, must as soon as reasonably possible, but in any event within 14 days after the request is received, transfer the request to the information officer of the public body by or for which the record was created or which received it first, as the case may be.