ALD19 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The appellant in this case, ALD19, appealed against the Federal Circuit Court's decision to affirm the Immigration Assessment Authority's refusal to grant a protection visa. The appellant had filed the notice of appeal in October 2019 but had not responded to any communications from the Court or the respondents since then. The Court had warned the appellant that it might consider an application for dismissal if the appellant failed to appear at a hearing relating to the appeal. The respondent subsequently notified the appellant of its intention to apply for dismissal under r 36.74 of the Federal Court Rules 2011, but the appellant did not appear at the case management hearing despite notice of the listing.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the appellant's failure to appear at the case management hearing constituted sufficient grounds for the Court to dismiss the appeal. The Court considered the appellant's lack of response to any communications from the Court or the respondents since filing the notice of appeal, as well as the appellant's failure to appear at the hearing despite notice of the listing. The Court noted that even unrepresented litigants could not expect to be mollycoddled by the Court indefinitely.

After considering the relevant legal principles and the circumstances of the case, the Court ordered that the appeal be dismissed with costs. The Court also ordered that the respondent serve a copy of these orders on the appellant by email and physically at the addresses recorded on the notice of appeal. The appellant had the liberty to apply within 14 days of these orders being served to vary or set aside the order for good cause. The Court's decision was based on the appellant's failure to appear at the case management hearing despite notice of the listing and the appellant's lack of response to any communications from the Court or the respondents since filing the notice of appeal.