Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Commercial Arbitration Act 1984 - SECT 3

Repeal, transitional and application provisions

3. Repeal, transitional and application provisions



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(2) Subject to subsection (3)-

   (a)  this Act applies to an arbitration agreement (whether made before or
        after the commencement of this Act) and to an arbitration under such
        an agreement; and

   (b)  a reference in an arbitration agreement to the Arbitration Act 1958,
        or a provision of that Act, shall be construed as a reference to this
        Act or to the corresponding provision (if any) of this Act.

(3) Where an arbitration was commenced before the commencement of this Act the
law governing the arbitration and the arbitration agreement shall be that
which would have been applicable if this Act had not been enacted.

(4) Subject to this section, this Act shall apply to arbitrations provided for
in any other Act or by an order of a court as if-

   (a)  the other Act or the order of the court were an arbitration agreement;

   (b)  the arbitration were pursuant to an arbitration agreement; and

   (c)  the parties to the dispute which, by virtue of the other Act or the
        order of the court, is referred to arbitration were the parties to the
        arbitration agreement-

except insofar as the other Act or the order of the court otherwise indicates
or requires.

(5) For the purposes of this section, an arbitration shall be deemed to have
been commenced if-

   (a)  a dispute to which the relevant arbitration agreement applies has
        arisen; and





   (b)  a party to the agreement-

   (i)  has served on another party to the agreement a notice requiring that
        other party to appoint an arbitrator or to join or concur in or
        approve of the appointment of an arbitrator in relation to the
        dispute;

   (ii) has served on another party to the agreement a notice requiring that
        other party to refer, or to concur in the reference of, the dispute to
        arbitration; or

   (iii) has taken any other step contemplated by the agreement, or the law in
        force at the time the dispute arose, with a view to referring the
        dispute to arbitration or appointing, or securing the appointment of,
        an arbitrator in relation to the dispute.

(6) Nothing in this Act applies to-

   (a)  an arbitration under the Supreme Court Act 1986 or the
        County Court Act 1958 (except to the extent that those Acts expressly
        provide for the application of this Act); or

   (b)  an arbitration or class of arbitrations prescribed as an arbitration
        or class of arbitrations to which this Act does not apply.

(7) Nothing in this Act shall affect the operation of section 28 of the
Instruments Act 1958, section 22 of the Hire-Purchase Act 1959 or section 130
of the Credit Act 1984.

(8) Nothing in this Act affects the operation of Part 3 of the
Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002.