1512320 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) dismissed the application after the applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing. The applicant did not subsequently apply for reinstatement of the application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the protection visa application, given the applicant's failure to attend the hearing and their subsequent failure to seek reinstatement within the statutory timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the principle that where an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not seek reinstatement of their application within the 14-day period prescribed by the relevant legislation, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. In such circumstances, the decision under review is taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.