Page:Promotion of Access to Information Act 2000.djvu/20

20 No. 20852

Act No. 2, 2000 concerned, the information officer of the body must, if that requester so requests, take reasonable steps to make the record available in a form in which it is capable of being read, viewed or heard by the requester.

(6) If a record is made available in accordance with subsection (5), the requester may not be required to pay an access fee which is more than the fee which he or she would have been required to pay but for the disability.

(7) If a record is made available in terms of this section to a requester for inspection, viewing or hearing, the requester may make copies of or transcribe the record using the requester's equipment, unless to do so would—

interfere unreasonably with the effective administration of the public body to concerned;

be detrimental to the preservation of the record; or

amount to an infringement of copyright not owned by the State or the public body concerned.

(8) If the supply to a requester of a copy of a record is required by this section, the copy must, if so requested, be supplied by posting it to him or her.

(9) If an internal appeal or an application to a court, as the case may be, is lodged against the granting of a request for access to a record, access to the record may be given only when the decision to grant the request is finally confirmed.

Access to health or other records

30. (1) If the information officer who grants, in terms of section 11, a request for access to a record provided by a health practitioner in his or her capacity as such about the physical or mental health, or well-being—

of the requester; or

if the request has been made on behalf of the person to whom the record relates, of that person,

(in this section, the requester and person referred to paragraphs (a) and (b), respectively, are referred to as the “relevant person”), is of the opinion that the disclosure of the record to the relevant person might cause serious harm to his or her physical or mental health, or well-being, the information officer may, before giving access in terms of section 29, consult with a health practitioner who, subject to subsection (2), has been nominated by the relevant person.

(2) If the relevant person is—

under the age of 16 years, a person having parental responsibilities for the relevant person must make the nomination contemplated in subsection (1); or

incapable of managing his or her affairs, a person appointed by the court to manage those affairs must make that nomination.

(3)(a) If, after being given access to the record concerned, the health practitioner consulted in terms of subsection (1) is of the opinion that the disclosure of the record to the relevant person would be likely to cause serious harm to his or ber physical or mental health, or well-being, the information officer may only give access to the record if the requester proves to the satisfaction of the information officer that adequate provision is made for such counselling or arrangements as are reasonably practicable before, during or after the disclosure of the record to limit, alleviate or avoid such harm to the relevant person.

(b) Before access to the record is so given to the requester, the person responsible for such counselling or arrangements must be given access to the record.

Language of access

31. A requester whose request for access to a record of a public body has been granted must, if the record—

exists in the language that the requester prefers, be given access in that language; or

does not exist in the language so preferred or the requester has no preference or has not indicated a preference, be given access in any language the record exists in.