1716501 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to dismiss their application for a protection visa. The applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing before the Tribunal. The Tribunal subsequently dismissed the application. The applicant did not make an application for reinstatement of their dismissed 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 application, given the applicant's failure to appear at the hearing and their subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the statutory timeframe. The Tribunal was also required to determine the consequence of this failure on the decision under review.

The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations, which stipulate that where 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 accordance with these provisions, the Tribunal confirmed its earlier decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed.