704Parties—application to join party

704 Parties—application to join party (1) This section applies to a proceeding for a child or young person under (2) If someone (the applicant) applies to the court to be joined as a party to the proceeding, the court may order the person be joined as a party to the proceeding if it considers it appropriate to do so. (3) However, if the applicant is the public advocate or the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people commissioner, the court must join the applicant as a party to the proceeding. (4) If the applicant has been caring for the child or young person continuously for 2 years or more, there is a rebuttable presumption that it is appropriate to join the applicant as a party to the proceeding. (5) An application may be made orally without notice to the parties to the proceeding, but the court must give each party an opportunity to be heard on the application before deciding whether to join the applicant as a party.