1810243 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) 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 matter came before the AAT for review of the decision to dismiss the application.

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 apply for reinstatement within the statutory timeframe. The Tribunal was also required to determine the consequence of this failure on the review of the dismissal decision.

The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations, which stipulate a strict 14-day period for applying for reinstatement of a dismissed application. As the applicant did not make such an application within this period, the Tribunal was bound by law to confirm the decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed.

The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.