Arbitrability of competition disputes in Australian law

It is presently unclear whether competition law disputes are capable of resolution by arbitration under Australian law. Although there is a pronounced international trend in favour of allowing such disputes to proceed to arbitration, and although a number of Australian cases have suggested that there should be no impediment to such arbitrations, in practice Australian judges have been reluctant to permit the arbitration of disputes under Pt IV of the Trade Practices Act. It would be consistent with international developments in arbitration law, and with the policy of party autonomy which is the foundation of Australian arbitration legislation, if competition law disputes were to be arbitrable under Australian law, notwithstanding the fact that arbitration may not always be the most suitable vehicle for resolving such disputes.