The Court seeks to draw to the attention of arbitrators and practitioners seeking to register arbitral awards the following matters.
The Form of Award to be Filed
- Regulation 67P(2) of the Family Law Regulations 1984 provides that the award must include a concise statement setting out the arbitrator’s reasons for making the award and the findings of fact in the matter referring to the evidence on which the findings are based.
- Regulation 67P(3) provides, amongst other things, that the award be contained in a single document.
- Regulation 67P(4) provides that if the award arises from a section 13E arbitration, the arbitrator must inform the Court that the arbitration has ended and an award has been made.
- An application to register the award must be in accordance with Form 8 (reg 67Q).
The following matters arise and have been the subject of requisitions from the Court:
- Applications for Registrations of Awards have included only the award. It is the view of the Court that the award is not a severable document from the arbitrator’s reasons and should be included as part of the ‘single document’.
- Whilst not expressly stated in the Regulations, it is the position of the Court that the award should be:
- signed by the arbitrator (with the arbitrator’s name printed below the signature); and
- dated
- Arbitrators do not routinely inform the Court that the arbitration has ended and an award has been made.
Further, the mere filing of the Application to Register will not trigger the registration of the award until 28 days after the service of the award upon the other parties to the arbitration.
Service must comply with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Rules 2021 and whether effected personally or upon an address for service, an Affidavit of Service to that effect filed with the Court.
Where the parties jointly make an Application to Register the Award it assists the Court significantly for joint correspondence from the parties confirming that intention.
Issued July 2024
