Arbitration clauses using language such as 'arising out of this Agreement' are confined to contractual disputes and do not extend to statutory claims under the Corporations Act or equitable claims, even where those claims arise in the same factual matrix. However, Corporations Act claims are in principle capable of arbitration if the arbitration clause is drafted in sufficiently wide terms, subject to limitations regarding the initial validity of the contract, orders binding third parties, and in rem orders such as winding up or share register rectification. Where bifurcation between arbitrable and non-arbitrable claims would result, the court may refer the entire dispute to a referee under Part 72 of the Supreme Court Rules.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 41 later cases that cite this judgment.
7 of the 41 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.