1700372 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) dismissed the applicant's application after they failed to attend a scheduled hearing. The applicant did not subsequently apply for a 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 decision to dismiss the application, given the applicant's failure to attend the hearing and their subsequent failure to seek reinstatement.

The Tribunal applied the relevant legislative provisions which stipulate that if an applicant fails to apply for reinstatement within the specified timeframe following the dismissal of their application for non-attendance, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.