Lien (Migration)

The applicant, Lien, sought judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to affirm the refusal of her Student (Temporary) (Class TU) visa, subclass 573 Higher Education Sector. The AAT had dismissed her application for review because she failed to attend a scheduled hearing and did not apply for reinstatement of her application within the prescribed 14-day period.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the AAT had erred in law by confirming the dismissal of Lien's application for review. Specifically, the court considered whether the Tribunal correctly applied the relevant provisions of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) concerning the dismissal of applications for failure to attend a hearing and the subsequent affirmation of the original decision.

The Senior Member of the AAT reasoned that as the review applicant had not applied for reinstatement of her application within the 14-day period following the dismissal, the Tribunal was mandated to confirm the decision to dismiss the application. This confirmation, in turn, meant that the original decision to refuse the visa was taken to be affirmed. The AAT applied the statutory framework that requires a specific procedural step (application for reinstatement) to be taken within a defined timeframe to avoid the automatic affirmation of a dismissed application.

The Tribunal confirmed its decision to dismiss the application.