HFTS and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a dispute between HFTS and the Commissioner of Taxation concerning a third-party access request. The request related to a decision that had been published and anonymised. Access to this anonymised decision was subsequently denied.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the applicant, HFTS, had standing to seek access to the anonymised decision. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) and the *Freedom of Information Act 1982* (Cth) in relation to third-party access requests for anonymised documents.

Deputy President Bernard J McCabe reasoned that for HFTS to have standing, it needed to demonstrate a sufficient interest in the matter. The Tribunal found that the applicant had not established that it was directly affected by the decision or that it had a legitimate interest in accessing the anonymised document beyond a general public interest. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that HFTS lacked the necessary standing to pursue the application for access.