Dispute resolution in the Australian construction industry - is there hope for arbitration?

Abstract

The construction industry is particularly prone to commercial disputes. Due to the lengthy and costly nature of litigation, the construction industry initially turned to arbitration for the efficiencies and other advantages it offered as a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). However, over the past 20 years, arbitration procedure has come under intense criticism for increasingly mirroring formal court proceedings and, as such, losing its time and cost advantages. In order to address the problems which have beset arbitration, in 2010 new uniform domestic commercial arbitration legislation was agreed upon by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General in Australia. This article considers the advantages for which the construction industry initially chose arbitration as its primary form of ADR, and the reasons for its “downfall”. It also provides an overview of the new unified domestic commercial arbitration legislation and its likely effects