Appleroth v Ferrari Australasia Pty Limited

The applicant, Appleroth, brought an originating application under the Fair Work Act 2009 alleging dismissal in contravention of a general protection. Appleroth sought an interlocutory application for orders that documents filed by the applicant in the proceeding be deemed confidential, in response to requests by media representatives for access to the documents. The originating application was discontinued before being served upon the respondents.

The court was required to decide whether the circumstances justified exclusion of public access to the documents, and whether a departure from the principles of open justice was warranted. The court also had to determine whether a media representative should be granted leave to intervene in the application for confidentiality orders. The applicant argued that the documents contained highly sensitive and personal information, and disclosure could result in harm to the applicant’s reputation and privacy. The media representative argued that there was a strong public interest in the transparency of the proceedings and that the documents should be made available to the public.

The court dismissed the interlocutory application for confidentiality orders, finding that the principles of open justice and transparency outweighed the applicant’s privacy concerns. The court held that the documents did not contain highly sensitive or personal information that would warrant exclusion from public access. The court also granted leave to the media representative to intervene for the purpose of opposing the application for confidentiality orders. The court found that the media representative had a legitimate interest in the proceedings and that their intervention would not unduly delay or prejudice the applicant.

The court ordered that the applicant’s interlocutory application dated 28 May 2020 be dismissed. The court also noted that the entry of orders was dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.