The third in the series of the very successful Australasian Symposia on Ionic Liquids (ASIL-3) was held on 15–16 May 2008 at Clayton, Australia. The breadth of subjects presented in ASIL-3 reflects the diversity of the subject, with topics ranging from batteries to biopolymers, pharmaceuticals to corrosion inhibition. A selected subset of these is presented in this Research Front.