Legal Innovation Centre

 

• This section tells you about assistance from laypersons, often referred to as McKenzie Friends, their role and how you can apply to seek their assistance during court proceedings.

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• For further information about McKenzie Friend's and representing yourself, click here 

If you wish for a McKenzie Friend to assist you in family proceedings, you will need to inform the judge as soon as possible and identify the proposed McKenzie Friend.

• There is a presumption in favour of allowing a litigant-in-person to have reasonable assistance from a layperson – often called a McKenzie Friend.

• Personal litigants assisted by McKenzie Friends remain litigants-in-person.

• McKenzie Friends have no independent right to provide assistance, act as advocates or to carry out litigation on your behalf.

• The proposed McKenzie Friend should produce a short curriculum vitae (CV) or other statement setting out their experience and confirming that they understand the McKenzie Friend role and duty of confidentiality and have no personal interest in the case.

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• If permission is granted, a McKenzie Friend may quietly assist and advise and take notes during the proceedings.

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• A McKenzie Friend does not have speaking rights or the right to conduct the litigation on your behalf.

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• While personal litigants usually have a right to receive reasonable assistance from McKenzie Friends, the judge can refuse to allow a McKenzie Friend to assist you. The refusal may occur on initial application or at any time during the hearing.

• Litigants-in-person are generally permitted to communicate information about the proceedings, including filed evidence, to McKenzie Friends for the purpose of obtaining advice or assistance but in family proceedings you must first obtain permission from the judge. This will require an application to the judge for permission.

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• In family proceedings, all documents are confidential. You should not share any of the case papers with a McKenzie Friend until permission of the Court to share the documents has been granted.

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• The McKenzie Friend must observe strict confidentiality in relation to any documents they have seen and any information they hear in relation to the court proceedings

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• Legal representatives of other parties should ensure that documents are served on personal litigants in good time to enable them to seek assistance from their McKenzie Friend

A McKenzie Friend may:

• provide moral support for litigants-in-person;

• take notes with the permission of the judge;

• help with case papers;

• quietly give advice on any aspect of the conduct of the case which is being heard​​

 

A McKenzie Friend may not

• Conduct the litigation, acting as the personal litigant’s agent in relation to the proceedings

• Manage the personal litigant’s cases outside court, for example by signing court documents

• Speak on behalf of the litigant-in-person, address the court, making oral submissions or examining witnesses unless this has, in very exceptional circumstances, been authorised by the court. 

• You or the McKenzie Friend can apply to the Court for the McKenzie Friend to obtain a right to speak and/or conduct litigation on your behalf. However, this will only be granted in very exceptional circumstances.

• There is no presumption in favour of granting these rights

• The court will not usually grant the application for a McKenzie Friend to speak on your behalf or conduct your litigation

• The application should be made at the earliest opportunity and preferably before the hearing.

• The right to speak on your behalf or conduct your litigation are separate rights. If both are sought then they must be applied for separately.

• Very exceptional circumstances include health problems or disability issues where legal representation is not available to the litigant in person.