1607047 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision to dismiss their application for a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) had dismissed the application, and the applicant sought judicial review of that dismissal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the application, given the applicant's failure to attend a scheduled hearing and their subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed timeframe.

The Tribunal reasoned that under the relevant legislative provisions, if an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days of the dismissal, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. As the applicant did not meet this reinstatement requirement, the Tribunal was bound to affirm the dismissal decision. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.