1513231 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) dismissed the application after the applicant failed to appear at 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 relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations, which stipulate that if an applicant fails to appear at a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. In this instance, as the applicant did not make such an application, the Tribunal was bound to confirm the dismissal. The Tribunal reasoned that the failure to seek reinstatement within the specified period meant that the decision to dismiss the application stood, and consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed.

The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.