DLMD and Commissioner of Taxation

The applicants, DLMD and the Commissioner of Taxation, sought confidentiality orders from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The dispute concerned the publication of witness names and the mode of reception of evidence, specifically an application for evidence to be given by telephone.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it had the power to make orders for witness pseudonymity under section 35 of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth), and whether such orders were necessary in light of a private hearing requirement under section 14ZZE of the *Taxation Administration Act 1953* (Cth). The Tribunal also considered whether telephone evidence was necessary to preserve witness anonymity.

The Tribunal reasoned that while it possessed the power to make the requested witness pseudonym orders, they were not granted in this instance. The Tribunal found that the existing provisions for a private hearing were sufficient to protect the anonymity of witnesses, and therefore, the additional measure of telephone evidence was deemed unnecessary.

Consequently, the orders sought by the applicants were not made by the Tribunal.