Lee and Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Citizenship)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Lee for a confidentiality order to suppress his name from publication in proceedings before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Mr Lee sought this order due to concerns about potential damage to his personal and professional reputation, as well as possible commercial repercussions for his employers, an airline. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection was the respondent.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether there were sufficiently cogent reasons to depart from the general principle of open and public conduct of Tribunal proceedings, specifically by granting a confidentiality order to suppress the applicant's name. The Tribunal was required to weigh the applicant's stated concerns against the established norm of publicity and the values it protects.

The Tribunal, applying the principles endorsed in previous decisions such as *Poidevin*, held that proceedings should be conducted openly unless there are "sufficiently cogent reasons" to the contrary. The Tribunal found that the potential for reputational or commercial damage to Mr Lee or his employers arising from the disclosure of his name in the context of a citizenship refusal review did not constitute such cogent reasons. The Tribunal noted that even significant reputational harm from other matters, such as ASIC banning orders, had not historically warranted confidentiality orders. Furthermore, the Tribunal considered that the disclosure of party names enhances public confidence in the merits review system through transparency and openness, and this principle generally outweighs personal privacy interests. Consequently, the Tribunal was not satisfied that there were cogent reasons to depart from the norm of publicity.

The Tribunal therefore declined to make the requested confidentiality order under section 35 of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth).