1722982 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by an applicant from China. The applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing before the Tribunal, and subsequently did not 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 procedural rules which stipulate that where an applicant fails to apply for reinstatement within the specified timeframe following a dismissal for non-attendance, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. This procedural requirement means that the decision under review is taken to be affirmed. Consequently, the Tribunal confirmed its earlier decision to dismiss the application.