1701962 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a protection visa by an applicant from China. The applicant failed to appear at a scheduled hearing, which led to the dismissal of their application by the Tribunal. The applicant did not subsequently apply for the 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 appear and their subsequent failure to seek reinstatement. The Tribunal was also required to determine the consequence of these failures on the decision under review.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on the procedural rules governing applications before it. As the applicant did not make a timely application for reinstatement following the dismissal of their application due to non-appearance, the Tribunal was bound by its own rules to confirm the decision to dismiss. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.