Australia is rapidly gaining ground as an attractive seat for international arbitration, particularly within the Asia-Pacific region. The last financial year saw both Australia's courts and legislature taking steps towards further entrenching the use of arbitration within Australia's wider legal framework for dispute resolution. This pervasive pro-arbitration sentiment is further reflected in the increasingly dynamic nature of Australia's international arbitration framework, which has transformed and extended the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (Model Law) into Australian federal and state legislation. In fact, with the commencement of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2017 (ACT) on 1 July 2017, all States and Territories in Australia now have their own legislation based on the Model Law. It is these highlights, and many others discussed below, that have made the last year exciting for the Australian domestic and international commercial arbitration space.

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