The Court of Appeal held that a cross-claim for contribution under a joint venture deed constituted a separate 'matter' from the plaintiff's claim concerning a compulsory acquisition process under s 7(2) of the International Arbitration Act 1974 (Cth), and was properly stayed and referred to arbitration as a discrete controversy capable of settlement by arbitration. The Court further held that the commencement of court proceedings in respect of a non-arbitrable matter (here, a dispute requiring construction of a deed of company arrangement under Pt 5.3A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) does not constitute waiver, abandonment or repudiation of the arbitration agreement in respect of other arbitrable matters, particularly where the party promptly sought a stay of the arbitrable cross-claim after it was filed. The Court also held, albeit obiter, that a matter centrally involving the construction and operation of a DOCA and its effect on third-party creditor rights was not arbitrable, and that trustees defending on the basis of rights acquired under a DOCA (rather than derivative rights of the company) were not claiming 'through or under' the company within s 7(4) of the Act.
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