1935609 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The primary decision maker refused the application, and the applicant sought review of this decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal dismissed the applicant's application for review due to their failure to attend a scheduled hearing.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the application for review, given the applicant's non-attendance at the hearing and their subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations, which stipulate that if an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days of the dismissal, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. As the applicant did not make such an application for reinstatement, the Tribunal was bound to confirm the dismissal. Consequently, the decision under review, which was the refusal of the protection visa, was taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application for review.