2104800 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) dismissed the applicant's application after the applicant failed to attend a scheduled hearing. The applicant subsequently failed to 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 decision to dismiss the application, given the applicant's failure to apply for reinstatement within the statutory timeframe.

The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and associated regulations, which stipulate a strict 14-day period for applying for reinstatement of a dismissed application. As the applicant did not meet this deadline, the Tribunal was mandated to confirm the earlier decision to dismiss the application. The Tribunal reasoned that the failure to comply with the reinstatement provisions meant the decision under review was taken to be affirmed.

Consequently, the Tribunal confirmed the decision to dismiss the applicant's protection visa application.