Can parties limit in advance the grounds on which an arbitration award can be appealed?

To some extent, yes. Part of the appeal of arbitration is that parties can shape aspects of the process in their arbitration agreement, and that can include narrowing or specifying the grounds on which either side can later challenge the award, rather than leaving every possible avenue open by default. Couples sometimes use this to gain more certainty and finality from the process, since agreeing upfront to limit challenges can reduce the risk of a lengthy dispute over the award itself after arbitration concludes.

There are limits to how far this can go, however. Parties generally cannot contract out of every possible ground for challenging an award, particularly around fundamental issues like bias, a genuine denial of fair process, or the arbitrator acting outside their authority altogether, since allowing that would undermine the basic fairness the family law system requires even in a private, consent-based process. Because the exact wording used to limit appeal rights matters enormously, both in terms of what's enforceable and what it actually achieves, this is an area where careful legal drafting and advice before signing the arbitration agreement is essential.