Defence personnel onboard the helicopter that sparked the Orroral Valley fire have had their names anonymised and suppressed as part of an inquiry despite there being no security issue raised and only the possibility of "some sort of prejudice" that includes "social media trolling".
The inquiry into the January 2020 fire that tore through about 80 per cent of the Namadgi National Park returned to the ACT Coroner's Court on Monday when counsel assisting the coroner Kylie Nomchong SC made the application to anonymise the relevant names in transcripts.
She also applied for a non-publication order of their names in relation to audio recordings as part of evidence and when they testify during the hearing proper in July.
"Your honour would appreciate that no benefit is served by naming them and there is a possibility of some sort of prejudice ... including social media trolling or otherwise," Ms Nomchong said.
She said she took the initiative to contact the relevant legal representatives - for the ACT, the Commonwealth and a group of NSW residents impacted by the fire - to obtain their consent to her application.
She said only the lawyer for the NSW residents, who have launched Supreme Court action after their their application to be part of the inquiry was refused, was yet to respond as he needed to take instructions from his clients.
Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker granted the application, saying she was satisfied it was appropriate but that "it's a little unusual".
"There's no particular security issue that sits behind the application to have those individuals anonymised," Ms Walker said.
"But I accept the nature of the issue before the court is of great public interest."
Ms Walker also said she was not particularly interested in individuals' actions except insofar as they go to the systemic question about whether a problem with communications existed and recommendations, if any, to be made.
The court heard from Ms Nomchong that the third and final tranche of the brief of evidence was set to be served by June 6.
The Chief Coroner will also view the helicopter and the site and be involved in a two-hour-and-45-minute flight as part of the inquiry.
The fire, started during a reconnaissance exercise between the Australian Army and the ACT Emergency Services Agency, also burnt about 22 per cent of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.
It burned across the territory for one month and led to the Clear Range and Calabash fires across the border that left numerous facilities and homes destroyed.
Ms Walker last July announced the inquiry, which is focusing on the 45 minutes it took for the helicopter crew to alert the ACT Emergency Service Agency to the fire's location.
Last December during a procedural hearing, Defence was granted a non-publication order in relation to information and had its offer of an internal investigation denied.
