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.

The ACCC announced on Thursday that it had issued infringement notices to Cash Converters Pty Ltd and Mobile Travel Agents Pty Ltd, for their alleged failures to comply with the Franchising Code of Conduct and that each franchisor had paid $16,500.00 in penalties.

This article was updated on 17 May 2025

In this guide we consider the franchise disclosure document, the importance of franchise disclosure document compliance, and best practices to ensure compliance as a franchisor in Australia.

1- The Importance of Franchise Disclosure Documents
2 - Key Components of Franchise Disclosure Documents
3 - Common Disclosure Document Issues for Australian Franchisors
4 - Best Practices for Franchise Disclosure Document Management

This article was updated on 26 May 2025

The franchising sector in Australia has approximately 1,144 franchise systems and approximately 70,735 franchisees.¹

One of the questions I'm asked, when talking to people about franchising their business, is, "what are the legal requirements?".

What I tell them, is that, unfortunately, franchising is legally complex and highly regulated.

I also talk about the many legal requirements that need to be complied with in order to successfully franchise your business. I discuss these requirements in more detail in the article below.

Guide to Franchising Your Business