Bhatti and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

Bhatti and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation) concerned an application for reinstatement of an application for review that had been dismissed due to the applicant's failure to attend a directions hearing. The matter came before Deputy President Bernard J McCabe of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it should grant the applicant's request to reinstate the dismissed application for review. This required the Tribunal to consider the applicant's reasons for non-attendance at the directions hearing, the extent of the delay in seeking reinstatement, and the likelihood of future compliance with Tribunal directions.

Deputy President McCabe reasoned that the applicant had been afforded multiple opportunities to comply with the Tribunal's directions, and that there had been extensive delay in bringing the application for reinstatement. The Tribunal considered the likelihood of further default and delay, and concluded that it was not in the interests of justice to grant the application.

Consequently, the application for reinstatement was refused.