Setting Aside a Family Arbitration Award in Ontario

Family arbitration is meant to be final — that's much of its appeal over court. But "final" doesn't mean an award can never be challenged. Ontario courts can set aside a family arbitration award in specific, limited circumstances. If you're unhappy with an outcome and wondering whether you have a real basis to challenge it, understanding those limited grounds is the place to start.

Why the Bar Is High

Courts generally give significant deference to a properly conducted family arbitration. Simply disagreeing with the outcome, even strongly, is not on its own a basis to set an award aside. The grounds available are narrower and more specific than "the arbitrator got it wrong."

Grounds That Can Support Setting an Award Aside

The arbitration didn't meet Ontario's family arbitration requirements

If the process didn't satisfy the requirements for a valid family arbitration — for example, one party wasn't given the opportunity to obtain independent legal advice, the arbitrator lacked appropriate family law training, or the award applied a legal framework other than the law of Ontario or another Canadian jurisdiction — that failure can undermine the award's validity.

The arbitrator exceeded their authority

An arbitrator's power comes from the arbitration agreement. If an award decides something the parties never agreed to submit to arbitration, or goes beyond the scope the agreement set out, a court can be asked to set aside that part of the award.

A serious procedural unfairness occurred

If a party wasn't given a fair opportunity to be heard, present evidence, or respond to the other side's case, that kind of procedural defect can support a challenge, separate from whether the ultimate decision was correct on the merits.

The award doesn't serve the best interests of a child

Courts retain oversight of parenting-related outcomes because decisions about a child are made using the best-interests test, not private agreement alone. An arbitration award addressing decision-making responsibility, parenting time, or contact can be revisited if it doesn't hold up against that test.

What Won't Get an Award Set Aside

• [ ] Believing the arbitrator reached the wrong conclusion on a fair reading of the evidence
• [ ] Regretting the arbitration process after the fact
• [ ] A change in your financial circumstances since the award — that's generally a basis for a future motion to change, not for setting aside the original award
• [ ] Wanting a "second opinion" from a judge without pointing to a specific procedural or legal defect

The Practical Process

Challenging a family arbitration award generally means going to the Superior Court of Justice and identifying, with supporting evidence, which specific ground applies. This isn't a retrial of the underlying dispute — the court examines whether the arbitration itself, or the award it produced, has a defect serious enough to justify setting it aside, not simply re-deciding the family law issue from scratch.

What to Do If You Think You Have Grounds

1. Get the arbitration agreement and award reviewed

Before doing anything else, have a lawyer review the arbitration agreement, the process that was actually followed, and the award itself against the family arbitration requirements.

2. Identify the specific ground you're relying on

A challenge needs to point to a specific defect — a missed requirement, an arbitrator who exceeded their authority, a procedural unfairness, or a best-interests problem with a parenting-related outcome — rather than general dissatisfaction with the result.

3. Act quickly

Because challenge deadlines are strict, gather your supporting evidence and file promptly rather than waiting to see whether the other party complies voluntarily.

4. Bring the application to the Superior Court of Justice

This is where the specific ground and supporting evidence are put before a judge, who decides whether the award, or part of it, should be set aside.

Frequently asked questions