1809567 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) dismissed the applicant's application after the applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing. The applicant subsequently failed to apply for reinstatement of the application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the decision to dismiss the application, given the applicant's failure to apply for reinstatement within the statutory timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the relevant legislative provisions which mandate the confirmation of a dismissal decision when an applicant fails to seek reinstatement within the specified period. As the applicant did not meet this procedural requirement, the Tribunal was obliged to confirm its earlier decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.