Checklist · Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution
Stay of court proceedings under the International Arbitration Act, section 7
Checklist of the section 7 conditions for a stay of court proceedings in favour of a foreign arbitration agreement, taken from the Act text.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the authority it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when a party asks an Australian court to stay proceedings so that a matter said to be covered by a foreign arbitration agreement can go to arbitration. This is the Part II stay. It is a different test from Model Law article 8.
Used for these tasks
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may enter the parties, the court and the agreement details from the file and tick which section 7 gateway is being considered, and the lawyer decides whether section 7 applies and settles any application.
AI may
- Enter the parties, the court, the filing date and the arbitration agreement reference from the file
- List which of the section 7(1) gateways the file appears to raise, without deciding that it is met
- Record whether a stay application has already been filed and by whom
AI must not
- Must not decide that section 7 applies or that the court must stay the proceedings
- Must not draft the application, the submissions or an affidavit
- Must not treat this checklist as the Model Law article 8 referral
The lawyer checks
- One of the section 7(1) gateways is met on the evidence
- The proceedings involve a matter capable of settlement by arbitration under the agreement
- The agreement is not null and void, inoperative or incapable of being performed
- The application, and any interim order about property, is settled by the lawyer
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
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More in Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution
- ACICA model arbitration clause (standard and expedited): choosing and completing it
- Federal Court Form 51: originating application for stay of a proceeding under the International Arbitration Act 1974
- Heads of agreement signed at the end of a mediation (binding terms of settlement)
- Preservation notice when arbitration is anticipated
- Expert determination agreement (referral of an existing dispute to an expert)
- Federal Court Form 50: originating application for an order in terms of an arbitration award
- Request to refer court proceedings to arbitration under Model Law article 8
- Notice of arbitration (ACICA Rules, with UNCITRAL and ad hoc variants)
- Arbitration preliminary-hearing agenda
- Disclosure of confidential information in a Model Law arbitration
- Enforcing a foreign arbitral award in the Federal Court: application checklist (International Arbitration Act 1974 ss 8 and 9)
- Federal Court Form 52: originating application to enforce a foreign award under the International Arbitration Act 1974
- Mediation agreement (with confidentiality and recording/AI-notetaker clause)
- Conferral letter before an arbitration discovery application
- Correction, interpretation and set-aside times after a Model Law award
- Federal Court Form 58: originating application to enforce an award under section 35(4) of the International Arbitration Act 1974
- Multi-tiered dispute resolution clause (notice, negotiation, mediation, then expert determination or arbitration)
- Redfern schedule for document production requests (with guidance)
- Arbitration confidentiality and non-waiver stipulation
- Federal Court Form 53: originating application for relief under the Model Law, section 18 of the International Arbitration Act 1974
- Procedural order (or party agreement) on the use of AI in the arbitration
- Subpoena in aid of a Model Law arbitration
- Notice and consent for AI transcription or notetaking in mediations and other ADR sessions
- Federal Court Form 54: application for a subpoena under the International Arbitration Act 1974
All precedents for Arbitration & Alternative Dispute Resolution · Tasks and AI use in this area