Parr and Commissioner of Taxation (Taxation)

The applicant, Parr, sought the reinstatement of applications that had been dismissed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) under section 42A(2) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) due to the applicant's failure to appear at a scheduled hearing. The Commissioner of Taxation was the respondent. The matter came before Deputy President Bernard J McCabe.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the discretion to reinstate the dismissed applications, as provided for in section 42A(9) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth), should be exercised in favour of the applicant. This required an assessment of the applicant's conduct, including a history of non-compliance, and the prospects of success in the underlying substantive matters.

Deputy President McCabe reasoned that the applicant had demonstrated a pattern of non-compliance with Tribunal directions and obligations, including multiple failures to appear. The material before the Tribunal also indicated that the applicant had little prospect of success in the substantive applications that had been dismissed. In light of this history and the weak prospects of the underlying matters, the Deputy President concluded that it would not be in the interests of justice to exercise the discretion to reinstate the applications.

Consequently, the applications for reinstatement were refused.