Domestic Arbitration Gets the Green Light For its Much Needed Overhaul

In a move to be applauded by the arbitration community, the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) on Friday agreed to the content of a new Commercial Arbitration Bill that will completely overhaul the existing Uniform Commercial Arbitration Acts (UCAAs) that are in place around Australia.

The benefit of this overhaul for Australian companies is that it will reinstate arbitration as providing a fair, quick and cost-effective process for the final resolution of commercial disputes - indeed this is spelled out in the Act as its paramount object. Whilst the text of the Bill approved by SCAG on Friday has not yet been released, some of the key changes as outlined in the 2009 Consultation Draft Bill include boundaries for court intervention in arbitral proceedings and limiting the grounds for appeal against an arbitral award. These amendments will give parties much greater confidence and certainty that when they embark on an arbitration the outcome will be final