Enter to open, tab to navigate, enter to select
Australian domestic arbitral legislation: November 2011
Practical Law UK Legal Update 2-514-6911 (Approx. 3 pages)
Australian domestic arbitral legislation: November 2011
by Practical Law
| Published on 01 Dec 2011 • Australia |
Andrew Robertson (Partner) and Ryan Kuss (Law Clerk), Piper Alderman
In November 2011, Australian domestic arbitration legislation has continued to advance through a number of States and Territories, with the purpose of modernising and reforming domestic arbitration legislation, by adopting legislation based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. The result will be broadly to align domestic and international legislation.
Further to last month's update on the domestic arbitral legislation reforms in Australia (see Legal update, Australian domestic arbitral legislation: October 2011), the current status in the process of amending the legislation is:
- On 15 November 2011, the Commercial Arbitration Bill was introduced into the Queensland Parliament.
- On 8 November 2011, the Standing Committee on Uniform Legislation and Statutes Review in Western Australia produced its report on the Bill in the upper house. That report recommends that the Parliamentary Secretary, representing the Attorney General, provide clarification regarding two terms used in the Act, namely:
- what will constitute "exceptional circumstances" in clause 17D when an arbitral tribunal, on its own initiative, modifies, suspends or terminates an interim measure it has granted; and
- whether the word "copy" in clause 35(2) (which requires a party relying on an award or applying for its enforcement to supply the original award or a copy of the original award) is intended to be read as meaning a certified or notarised copy.
- The legislation has received Royal Assent in South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania. However, no commencement dates have been set.
- The new Commercial Arbitration Act has been in force in New South Wales since 1 October 2010 and in Victoria since 17 November 2011.
Only the Australian Capital Territory is yet to introduce the Bill into its Parliament.
For the background to this reform, see Legal updates, Australian domestic arbitral legislation: current status and Australia to get new domestic arbitration legislation.