1621350 (Refugee)

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

The primary 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.

The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations, which stipulate that if an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. As the applicant did not make such an application, the Tribunal was bound to confirm the dismissal. Consequently, the decision under review, which was the dismissal of the protection visa application, was taken to be affirmed.