Steelforce Trading Pty Ltd v Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science (No 2)

Steelforce Trading Pty Ltd, an Australian company, sought a suppression order against the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science. The dispute arose from proceedings where Steelforce Trading sought to challenge certain decisions made by the respondent regarding funding. The Federal Court of Australia was tasked with deciding whether a suppression order was appropriate to prevent the publication of commercially sensitive information that could prejudice the proper administration of justice.

The court was required to determine whether the information identified in the proposed suppression order was of such a nature that its publication could lead to prejudice to the proper administration of justice. The court considered the balance between the public interest in open justice and the need to protect sensitive commercial information. It was necessary to assess whether the information in question contained commercially sensitive details that, if disclosed, could harm the competitive position of the company or others.

The court held that the information in question did indeed contain commercially sensitive details that, if published, could prejudice the proper administration of justice. It found that the public interest in open justice was outweighed by the need to protect this sensitive information. The court made a suppression order, prohibiting the publication or disclosure of specific numerical details within the Court's reasons. These details were identified as being commercially sensitive and potentially harmful if made public.

The suppression order included specific sections of the Court's reasons that contained the sensitive numerical information. The order was made pursuant to section 37AF of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976, based on the grounds specified in section 37AG(1)(a). This ensures that the commercially sensitive information remains protected from public disclosure.