Ang v Minister for Immigration

The applicant, Mr Ang, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which affirmed the refusal of his application for a Student (Temporary) (Class TU) (Subclass 500) visa. The AAT had found that Mr Ang was not a genuine applicant for entry and stay as a student, as required by clause 500.212 of the *Migration Regulations 1994* (Cth). Mr Ang subsequently failed to appear at the scheduled final hearing in the Federal Circuit Court, leading to the dismissal of his proceeding under rule 13.03C(1)(c) of the *Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Mr Ang's application for reinstatement of the dismissed proceeding should be granted. This required the Court to consider whether the reasons provided by Mr Ang for his non-appearance at the final hearing were adequate and whether his asserted substantive grounds for judicial review had reasonable prospects of success, such as to justify the extraordinary remedy of reinstatement.

Dowdy J found that the reasons provided by Mr Ang for his failure to attend the final hearing were inadequate. The Court determined that the asserted substantive grounds of review did not possess reasonable prospects of success to the extent required to justify an order for reinstatement. Consequently, the application for reinstatement of the proceeding was dismissed.