Heer and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Migration)

Heer and the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Migration) concerned an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) which was dismissed due to the applicant's failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. The applicant sought judicial review of this dismissal.

The primary legal issue before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was whether the AAT had erred in law by dismissing the applicant's application pursuant to section 42A(2) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) when the applicant failed to attend the hearing. This involved considering the scope and application of that provision in circumstances where an applicant does not appear.

The Court found that section 42A(2) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* conferred a discretion on the Tribunal to dismiss an application if the applicant failed to appear at a hearing, unless the Tribunal was satisfied that there was a reasonable excuse for the failure. The Court held that the AAT had correctly applied this provision, finding that the applicant had not provided a reasonable excuse for their non-attendance. The Tribunal's decision to dismiss the application was therefore not vitiated by an error of law.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.