Acting for a third party in family law proceedings often brings out fear in legal practitioners. What can you do, what advice should you give, how much should you get involved in any particular case and what are the pitfalls to be wary of (and certainly there are some)? If the world is a stage (and the court no less of one), then it's certainly harder to be an "extra" rather than the "star".

However, with some careful planning, acting for third parties need not instil fear in practitioners. This paper will examine the practical aspects of third party matters, as well as provide some practical examples.

The other side of this paper is to consider the recent events post the High Court decision of Kennon v Spry [2008] HCA 56, including the more recent consideration of enforcement issues by the Full Court, culminating in their further decision delivered on 24 December 2009.

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