COLOMBO (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by a student visa holder who failed to attend a hearing before the Tribunal. The applicant sought review of a decision made by the Minister.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was required to confirm the dismissal of the applicant's review application, given the applicant's failure to attend the scheduled hearing and their subsequent failure to apply for reinstatement within the prescribed timeframe.

The Tribunal reasoned that under the relevant migration regulations, if an applicant fails to attend a hearing and does not apply for reinstatement within 14 days of the dismissal, the Tribunal must confirm the decision to dismiss the application. As these conditions were met, the Tribunal was bound to affirm the decision under review. The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.