| 7.1. | The following persons may lodge a complaint— |
| 7.1.1. | A data subject whose personal information has been interfered with in terms of section 73 of the Act; |
| 7.1.2. | Any person acting on behalf of a data subject whose personal information has been interfered with, as referred to in section 73 of the Act; |
| 7.1.3. | Any person with a sufficient personal interest in the subject matter of the complaint referred to in section 73 of the Act; |
| 7.1.4. | A responsible party or data subject who is aggrieved by the determination of an adjudicator in terms of section 63(3) of the Act; or |
| 7.1.5. | Any person acting in the public interest. |
| 7.2. | Subject to Regulation 7.10 a complaint submitted to the Regulator must be in writing by completing— |
| 7.2.1. | an online complaint Form 5 available on the website of the Regulator; or |
| 7.2.2. | the complaint form, Form 5 which shall be made available at the offices of the Regulator during office hours and any office designated by the Regulator. |
| 7.3. | The Regulator will assist any person who wishes to make a complaint, to reduce that complaint to writing. |
| 7.3.1. | Should a complainant require assistance in a language other than English, the Regulator will strive to provide a person competent in the language of the complainant to assist to reduce the complaint to writing. |
| 7.3.1.1. | A complaint may be submitted at— |
| 7.3.1.1.2. | The offices of the Regulator during office hours, |
| 7.3.1.1.3. | any other office designated by the Regulator as a place where complaints may be lodged. |
| 7.4. | The office designated by the Regulator in terms of sub-regulation 7.3.1.1.3 shall transfer the complaint to the Regulator within 14 days of receipt of the complaint. |
| 7.5. | A complaint may also be submitted to the Regulator in the following manner: |
| 7.5.3. | by courier, at the Regulator’s physical address; or |
| 7.5.4. | by email to a designated email address. |
| 7.6. | The Regulator shall acknowledge receipt of the complaint and provide the complainant with the reference number within fourteen (14) days after receipt thereof. |
| 7.7. | A complaint form referred to in sections 74(1) and (2) of the Act shall contain the following information— |
| 7.7.1. | name(s) and surname/ registered name of a complainant; |
| 7.7.2. | unique identifier/identity number/ company registration number of a complainant, if required; |
| 7.7.3. | address of a complainant; |
| 7.7.4. | the telephone and facsimile numbers of a complainant and e-mail address, if available; |
| 7.7.5. | reasons for a complaint; |
| 7.7.6. | name(s) and surname of a responsible party / registered name of a responsible party; |
| 7.7.7. | address of a responsible party; |
| 7.7.8. | the telephone and facsimile numbers of a responsible party and e-mail address, if available. |
| 7.8. | A complaint form referred to in section 74(2) of the Act shall contain the following information: |
| 7.8.1. | If a complaint is regarding the determination of an adjudicator, the name(s) and surname of the adjudicator; and |
| 7.8.2. | Any other information that identifies the adjudicator. |
| 7.9. | A complaint may also contain any other relevant additional information about the incident or matter concerned, which may include:— |
| 7.9.1. | the place and date of the occurrence; |
| 7.9.2. | particulars of the Information Officer concerned, if known; |
| 7.9.3. | the names and addresses of any person who could provide information relevant to the complaint, if known; and |
| 7.9.4. | any other relevant information or documents that may be used during the investigation. |
| 7.10. | If a complaint lodged with the Regulator contains any personal information which is protected in terms of the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000 (Act No. 26 of 2000) (PDA), the identity of the complainant will be protected. |
| 7.11. | In the event the complainant wishes his, her or its identity not to be disclosed, valid reasons must be submitted together with the complaint. The Regulator will consider the reasons and inform the complainant of its decision as to whether it accepts or rejects the request for non-disclosure of the complainant’s identity. The complainant will then be able to either withdraw or proceed with the complaint on this basis. |
| 7.12. | A staff member, duly designated by the Regulator, must render the necessary assistance, free of charge, to enable any person to comply with this Regulation. |
[Regulation 7 substituted by Notice No. 6126, GG52523, dated 17 April 2025]
