Introduction

As a franchisor, one of your most significant obligations is to provide relevant, accurate and up-to-date information to your franchisees and prospective franchisees. An important part of that obligation is creating a disclosure document containing materially relevant information about your franchise system. A disclosure document needs to be updated every year you intend to start or maintain a franchise business.

Australian franchisor Luxottica Franchising Australia (Luxottica) has paid a penalty of $19,800 after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued it with an infringement notice for failing to maintain an up-to-date profile on the Franchise Disclosure Register.

In this article we consider the "return on investment" requirement which applies to franchise agreements entered into, renewed or extended on or after 1 November 2025 (except for those new vehicle dealership agreements entered into prior to 1 November 2025 which are covered by the previous regulations).

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC) has recently begun the process of reviewing the new provisions governing Unfair Contract Terms (UCTs), which began operation on 9 November 2023. These new provisions considerably widened the scope of the old UCT provisions and have profound implications for many contracts, especially in the franchising sector. In this blog post we will unpack what the UCT provisions are, the type of contracts they affect, how the amended provisions changed the law and what the ACCC's review is hoping to achieve. We will also consider whether the amendments have, thus far, actually had the effects that the Government set out to achieve.

Assignment and novation are two methods of transferring contractual rights or obligations from one party to another. While they might seem similar and even interchangeable on the surface, they actually have very different uses, so it is important to have a good understanding of what you want to transfer and how you can do it.

In this article I take a look at some of the recent commentary around the outlook for franchising in 2026, as well as recapping the regulatory changes in 2025 (particularly the changes that came into effect on 1 November 2025).

2025 was a busy year in franchising with 2 tranches of Franchising Code changes coming into effect, requiring franchise disclosure documents to be updated twice last year in some cases.

Thankfully, 2026 should see more stability on the regulatory front.

An Assignment Agreement is a legal document which can be used by one party (the assignor) to assign rights or interests previously belonging to the assignor to another party (the assignee).

The Australian Franchise Outlook Report 2026 indicates that support in understanding legal documents is one of the most important factors in helping someone feel more confident about becoming a franchisee.

The Competition and Consumer (Industry Code - Franchising) Regulations 2024, were made on 5 December 2024 and come into effect on 1 April 2025. You can read the regulations here.

When you buy a franchise, you essentially buy the right to operate a business that is the same as the other businesses in the franchise network.

What is Franchising?

In order for all of the franchised businesses to essentially be the same, the product or service that is sold by each franchise must be consistent.

To achieve consistency, a franchisor may restrict where you purchase the supplies required to operate your business.

This can sometimes mean that the cost of your supplies (or the cost of goods sold) is higher than it otherwise might be if you were operating an independent business.

Starting Your Own Business vs Buying A Franchise