Bennett v Secretary, Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations

The applicant, Bennett, sought reinstatement of an application that had been dismissed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) due to the applicant's failure to appear at a scheduled telephone hearing. The respondent was the Secretary, Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations.

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether it should exercise its discretion to reinstate the dismissed application. This required the AAT to consider the reasons for the applicant's non-appearance and the merits of the substantive application itself.

The AAT Member, Ms S Taglieri, noted that the applicant had failed to provide any explanation for their absence from the telephone hearing. Furthermore, the AAT had previously formed the view that the substantive application lacked arguable merit. In the absence of any compelling reason for the non-appearance and given the lack of merit in the underlying application, the AAT concluded that it was not appropriate to grant the reinstatement. The AAT therefore refused the application for reinstatement.