Nolan and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for reinstatement of an appeal that had been dismissed for non-attendance. The applicant, Mr Nolan, sought to have his appeal against a decision of the Secretary of the Department of Social Services reinstated after failing to appear at a scheduled hearing.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had the power to grant an extension of time for the lodging of an application for reinstatement, and if so, whether it should exercise that discretion in favour of Mr Nolan. The Tribunal also had to consider the criteria for granting reinstatement, particularly in circumstances where the initial dismissal was due to the applicant's failure to attend a hearing.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) provided for applications for reinstatement, it did not explicitly grant a power to extend the time for lodging such an application. However, the Tribunal found that it possessed an inherent power to control its own process and, by analogy with other procedural rules, could extend time for lodging reinstatement applications. In exercising this discretion, the Tribunal considered the applicant's explanation for his non-attendance, the merits of his underlying appeal, and the overall interests of justice. The Tribunal noted that a failure to attend a hearing without a valid excuse weighed against granting reinstatement.

Ultimately, the Tribunal refused the application for reinstatement, finding that Mr Nolan had not provided a sufficient explanation for his failure to attend the hearing and that the merits of his appeal did not warrant the exceptional step of reinstating a dismissed matter.