1926074 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) dismissed the application for review due to the applicant's failure to appear at the scheduled hearing. The applicant did not subsequently apply for reinstatement of the application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the application, given the applicant's failure to seek reinstatement after the initial non-appearance. The Tribunal also considered the consequence of this failure on the decision under review.

The Tribunal reasoned that its procedural rules mandated confirmation of a dismissal if an application for reinstatement was not filed within the stipulated timeframe. Applying this rule, the Tribunal concluded that it had no discretion to do otherwise. Consequently, the decision under review was taken to be affirmed.

The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.