1834894 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision concerning a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) dismissed the applicant's application for review because the applicant failed to appear at the scheduled hearing. The applicant did not subsequently apply for reinstatement of the application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the decision to dismiss the application for review should be confirmed, given the applicant's failure to appear and subsequent failure to seek reinstatement. This required the Tribunal to consider the operation of the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) concerning the dismissal and reinstatement of applications.

The Tribunal's reasoning was grounded in sections 426A(1E) and 426A(1F) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). These provisions stipulate that if an applicant fails to apply for reinstatement within 14 days of a dismissal for non-appearance, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. Consequently, the decision under review is taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.