1821538 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Vietnam, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) dismissed the applicant's application due to their non-appearance. The applicant failed to apply for reinstatement of their application within the prescribed 14-day period following the dismissal.

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 seek reinstatement within the statutory timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the relevant legislative provisions which mandate confirmation of a dismissal decision where an applicant does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days. As the applicant did not meet this procedural requirement, the Tribunal was obliged to affirm 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.