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PAIA Manual

Last updated: 27 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 Hypnotherapy Training College Africa keeps and how you can ask for access to them.

1. About the college

Hypnotherapy Training College Africa (“HTC Africa”) is a sole proprietorship owned by Derek Vorster, trading as Hypnotherapy Training College Africa, and co-founded with Heather Vorster. It provides online hypnotherapy training, built on the curriculum and learning material of Hypnotherapy Training College Australia, with live streamed classes and, when enough students request them, face-to-face sessions in the Howick area. It is a private body as defined in PAIA and has no employees.

2. Contact details of the head and Information Officer

Derek Vorster is the owner and head of the college, and its Information Officer. 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, and is available free of charge in any official language from the Information Regulator:

4. Records available without a formal request

5. Records kept under other laws

Where applicable, records are kept in terms of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008; the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002; the Income Tax Act, 1962; the Tax Administration Act, 2011; the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000; and the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013.

6. Categories of records held

Student records are confidential. They will be released only to the student concerned, or as the law allows (see section 9).

7. How personal information is processed (POPIA)

Purpose: to answer enquiries, enrol students, deliver courses and assessments, issue and confirm qualifications, manage fees and payments, and meet legal and tax obligations.

People whose information is held: prospective, current and former students (and, for any student under 18, their parents or guardians); website visitors; service providers.

Who receives the information: Hypnotherapy Training College Australia, which runs the online learning platform and registers students on it; the accrediting associations, which may audit samples of assessed work; PayFast for card payments; Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp for classes and messages; Domains.co.za for website hosting and email; and public authorities such as the South African Revenue Service or a court, where the law requires it.

Information sent outside South Africa: enrolment and course records are held in Australia by Hypnotherapy Training College Australia, and some communication services process information abroad. This is done only as POPIA section 72 allows, as explained in the Privacy Policy.

Security measures: password-protected devices and accounts, secure (HTTPS) website connections, access to student records limited to the people who need it, payment card details handled only by PayFast, and secure deletion of records that are no longer needed.

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 the Information Officer 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 the Information Officer will help you complete the form.

Your own personal information: if you only want to know what personal information is held about you, or want it corrected or deleted, you do not need the formal PAIA procedure. Simply email info@hypnotherapytrainingcollege.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. No fee is 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 student (section 63); disclose confidential commercial information of a third party, such as licensed course material (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); or disclose commercial information of the college 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 this website and, free of charge, on request from the Information Officer. It will be updated whenever the information in it changes.

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