Can a family arbitration award be appealed the same way a court judgment can?

Not quite the same way. A family arbitration award can generally be challenged, but the available grounds and process are narrower and more specific than a typical family court appeal. Rather than a broad re-examination of the facts, challenges to an arbitration award tend to focus on specific issues such as the arbitrator exceeding their authority, a significant procedural unfairness, bias, or an error of law, and the parties' own arbitration agreement can also affect exactly what avenues are available.

This narrower scope is part of the trade-off that comes with choosing arbitration in the first place: it's often faster and more private than court, but the parties generally accept a more limited path to challenge the outcome in exchange for that. Parties can sometimes shape, in advance, how much room there is to challenge an award, though there are limits to how far they can restrict this. Because the specific wording of the arbitration agreement and the nature of the alleged problem both matter enormously here, anyone considering challenging an award, or defending one, should get legal advice promptly given how time-sensitive these processes tend to be.