2102272 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review concerning a protection visa for an applicant from China. The applicant failed to appear at the hearing of their application.

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

The Tribunal reasoned that under the relevant procedural rules, if an applicant does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days of a dismissal for non-appearance, the Tribunal must confirm the dismissal. Consequently, the decision under review is taken to be affirmed. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.