Rinehart v Rinehart (No 3)

Rinehart v Rinehart (No 3) involved a dispute between family members, primarily focusing on whether certain claims should be referred to arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act 2010 (NSW) or the Commercial Arbitration Act 2012 (WA). The court had to determine whether the applicants were disentitled from seeking specific relief due to contractual agreements to resolve disputes through arbitration. The central issues were whether section 8(1) of these Acts applied to the facts of the case and whether the court should direct a trial to decide the validity of certain arbitration agreements.

The court concluded that section 79 of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) "picked up" section 8(1) of the commercial arbitration legislation, which governs the referral of disputes to arbitration. It found that the NSW Act did not apply to the alleged arbitration agreement in the Porteous settlement deed, as it did not cover the disputes in the proceeding. However, the other five arbitration agreements relied upon by the applicants were deemed valid within the meaning of section 7(1) of either the NSW or WA Acts. The court identified specific claims that were subject to these arbitration agreements and others that were not. It concluded that, for those claims subject to an arbitration agreement, the court should exercise its discretion to decide whether any of the five arbitration agreements was null and void or inoperative within the meaning of section 8(1).

The final orders included dismissing the interlocutory applications that relied on the arbitration agreement in the Porteous settlement deed, ordering a trial to determine the validity of certain arbitration agreements, reserving costs, and listing the matter for a case management hearing.