1815885 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application for a protection visa made by individuals who had travelled to Thailand. The applicants failed to attend a scheduled hearing before the Tribunal and 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 the applicants' failure to attend the hearing and their subsequent inaction constituted grounds for affirming the decision to dismiss their application. The Tribunal was required to determine the legal consequences of these omissions under the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations.

The Tribunal applied the principle that where an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not seek reinstatement within the statutory timeframe, the application is deemed to have been dismissed. Consequently, the Tribunal was obliged to confirm the decision to dismiss the application, thereby affirming the original decision under review. The Member noted that the applicants' failure to apply for reinstatement within the 14-day period was determinative.

The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.