2008081 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review of a decision concerning a protection visa for applicants from Thailand. The applicants failed to appear at the scheduled hearing for their application. Consequently, the Tribunal dismissed the application. No application for reinstatement of the dismissed application was subsequently filed by the applicants 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 applicants' failure to appear and their subsequent failure to seek reinstatement. The Tribunal was also required to determine whether, in these circumstances, the original decision to refuse the protection visa should be taken to be affirmed.

The Tribunal's reasoning was based on the procedural rules governing applications for review. As the applicants did not make an application for reinstatement within the 14 days allowed after the dismissal, the Tribunal was obliged to confirm its earlier decision to dismiss the application. This procedural default meant that the decisions under review were taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the application.