VNBM and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by VNBM concerning confidentiality orders in relation to a review of a decision by the Commissioner of Taxation. The dispute arose from the applicant's request for a private hearing and subsequent requests for further confidentiality orders, which the Commissioner argued could frustrate his statutory duties. The matter came before Senior Member R Olding.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether an interim confidentiality order should be revoked and whether any further limited confidentiality order was appropriate, particularly in light of the applicant's entitlement to a private hearing under section 14ZZE of the *Taxation Administration Act 1953* (Cth). The Tribunal also considered the tension between the principles of open justice and the specific rights afforded to taxpayers seeking review of certain taxation decisions.

The Tribunal reasoned that while hearings are generally public, the *Taxation Administration Act 1953* grants an applicant the right to a private hearing. This right had been exercised by the applicant, and the Tribunal had already taken steps to anonymise the decision. However, the applicant was not automatically entitled to further confidentiality beyond these protections. Crucially, the applicant withdrew its request for further confidentiality orders, acknowledging that such orders could impede the Commissioner's ability to fulfil his statutory obligations, such as providing information to the Tax Practitioners Board. The Tribunal found this concession to be appropriate.

Given the applicant's withdrawal of its request for further confidentiality and the implicit concession that the interim order was no longer necessary, the Tribunal ordered that the interim confidentiality order be revoked and that no further confidentiality order be made.