Support persons
A support person attends a hearing to provide moral support or assistance to one of the parties. This is a very different role from that of the Representative.
What support persons do
It’s common to bring a friend or family member (or another person) to attend your hearing and observe, while supporting you throughout the process. A support person is different from a representative and cannot make arguments on your behalf.
A support person can:
- help you organize your documents
- attend and observe the hearing
- take notes during the hearing
- provide emotional and moral support
If you want your support person to have access to information or documents, you must provide that information to them yourself.
Accommodation and accessibility support
We want to make sure you can fully participate in our proceedings, including your hearing. We’ll do our best to remove barriers to participation and ensure equal access to our services. For more information, see: Accommodation and accessibility procedure.