The POPI Act / Sections / Section 29
Section 29
Authorisation concerning data subject's race or ethnic origin
Chapter 3 · Conditions for Lawful Processing · Part B, Special Personal Information
The prohibition on processing personal information concerning a data subject's race or ethnic origin, as referred to in section 26, does not apply if the processing is carried out to— (a) identify data subjects and only when this is essential for that purpose; and (b) comply with laws and other measures designed to protect or advance persons, or categories of persons, disadvantaged by unfair discrimination.
Source: justice.gov.za, Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (official PDF), cross-checked verbatim before publishing.
Beyond the text
What this means for your estate
- The most likely trigger for an estate is subsection (b), Employment Equity Act reporting for estate staff is a common scenario where race/ethnicity data is lawfully collected under this exception, not a general resident-data category.
- Subsection (a)'s “essential” bar is strict, this isn't an exception for convenience; it applies only where identification for the stated purpose genuinely can't be achieved another way.
Relevant tool
PopiGuard's HR-adjacent compliance tasks (where applicable) route Employment Equity data collection through this exact exception, not a general consent form.