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ICDR News

Amendments to the International Arbitration Act 1974

Amendments have been proposed to update the Australian International Arbitration Act 1974. The proposed amendments are to remove any ambiguity in the Act and to ensure that it is consistent with the 2006 amendments to the Model Law on Arbitration of the UNCITRAL Working Group II (Arbitration). The Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, released a discussion paper proposing the amendments in November 2008 and invited submissions from interested parties. More information is available from the Attorney-General's Department website.

On 6 November 2009, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General agreed to reform the Uniform Commercial Arbitration Act, a model Bill adopted by each State and Territory to regulate domestic commercial arbitration. The Commonwealth and NSW Attorney’s General issued a joint media release welcoming the development.

The new model Bill, which is scheduled to be finalised at the next meeting of SCAG in April 2010, will be based on the internationally accepted Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

Upcoming ICDR Conferences

Shanghai World Expo 2010

The Australian Government has organised an Arbitration Event as part of the Australian legal program at the Shanghai World Expo. -The Arbitration Event will highlight Australia’s expertise in commercial mediation and arbitration and promote Australia as an international destination for arbitration. It is proposed for Friday, 16 July 2010.

Further information is available from the International Legal Services Advisory Council website.