2201754 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review concerning a protection visa for applicants from Thailand. The applicants failed to appear at the hearing of their application, which led to its dismissal by the Tribunal. No application for reinstatement of the dismissed application was subsequently filed.

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 within the prescribed timeframe. The Tribunal was also required to determine the consequence of this failure on the decisions under review.

The Tribunal reasoned that its procedural rules mandated the confirmation of a dismissal where an applicant fails to appear at a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days. Applying this rule, the Tribunal concluded that the failure to seek reinstatement meant the dismissal was to be confirmed. Consequently, the decisions under review were taken to be affirmed.

The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.