DSR16 v Minister for Immigration

[2017] FCCA 2308

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

DSR16 v MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & ANOR [2017] FCCA 2308

Catchwords:
MIGRATION – Judicial review application – no appearance by the applicant – application dismissed.

Legislation:

Migration Act 1958

Federal Circuit Court Rules 13.03C(1)(c)

Applicant: DSR16

First Respondent: MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & BORDER PROTECTION

Second Respondent: ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

File Number: ADG 424 of 2016

Judgment of: Judge Young

Hearing date: 15 September 2017

Date of Last Submission: 15 September 2017

Delivered at: Adelaide

Delivered on: 15 September 2017

REPRESENTATION

No appearance by or for the Applicant

Counsel for the First Respondent: Ms Butler

Solicitors for the Respondent: Australian Government Solicitor

ORDERS

1. The application filed 6 December 2016 be dismissed.

2. The Applicant pay the First Respondent’s costs of and incidental to the application fixed in the sum of $6,000.

FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT
OF AUSTRALIA
AT ADELAIDE

ADG 424 of 2016

DSR16

Applicant

And

MINISTER FOR IMMIGRATION & BORDER PROTECTION

First Respondent

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL

Second Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

Ex-Tempore

1. These reasons for judgment were delivered orally. They have been corrected from the transcript. Grammatical errors have been corrected and an attempt has been made to render the orally delivered reasons amenable to being read.   

2. This is an application arising from a decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on 23 November 2016.  The applicant has not appeared today to prosecute his application.  The matter has been called outside court and I have had my deputy associate telephone the applicant, on the number on the Court file, and the number went through to his message bank.  She actually called him three times – once while I was in the Court room, and the other two times before I came down.

3. The application is drafted by the applicant himself, it would appear, and simply says:

   I got application refused by DIBP and AAT.  I wanted to lodge another application so I can get the protection visa to stay here.  I could submit more documents to success my application.  Thanks.

   And the grounds of the application are said to be:

   To relodge my application so I can stay here.  Couldn’t able to go back into my country.  It’s a bit risky to live there again, now.  So I request to judge, please reopen my application again.  Thanks.

4. I have perused the court book.  It appears that the applicant is a citizen of India.  He is 27 years old.  It appears he originally came to Australia in about 2009 on, I take it, a student visa.  In 2014 he applied for a protection visa and that was refused by the delegate in September 2015 after he failed to attend an interview with the delegate.  On 23 November 2016 the AAT refused an application for review of the delegate’s decision.  The applicant had failed to appear at an interview arranged for 1 November 2016 and it appears that the Tribunal had had some reasonably lengthy communications with the applicant by text, where he sought an adjournment but which appears not to have been granted.

5. In any event he did not appear.  He was advised that he could seek reinstatement of his application on application to the AAT within 14 days but that application was not made.  So his failure to appear today should be seen in that context.  There is nothing before me to suggest that the applicant was not aware of the proceeding and, in my view, it is appropriate to dismiss the application pursuant to Federal Circuit Court Rules 13.03C(1)(c).  That is, if the party is absent, the Court may dismiss the application.  Accordingly, I dismiss the application.

I certify that the preceding five (5) paragraphs are a true copy of the reasons for judgment of Judge Young

Date:  21 September 2017