The proposed franchise register. What you need to know!
The federal government has released plans to improve transparency in the $180 billion franchising sector that’s often plagued with disputes between franchisees and franchisors. The draft amendments, which were announced as part of the May 2021 budget, will see the establishment of a new disclosure register if they pass Parliament. Treasury is leading the consultation, allowing […]
Crisis Control in COVID-19 – 3 tips for franchisors when your franchisees have been shut down
There is no doubt that COVID-19 is one of the greatest challenges the world has faced. The risks to health are immense and has resulted in the introduction of extraordinary measures across all levels of government to help limit the spread of the virus, and to save lives. However, these measures have necessarily brought with […]
What we’re reading: ’21 lessons for the 21st century’; Yuval Noah Harari
What we’re reading: ’21 lessons for the 21st century’; Yuval Noah Harari As with most lawyers, we enjoy our books. Having spent years at Law School devouring cases and textbooks, and doing our best to keep abreast of all the changes to the law to maintain our skills, the habit of reading is usually well […]
Case Study – Bringing franchise ideas to life through franchise incubation
Case Study- Bringing a franchise idea to life through franchise incubation Problem A new client came to us with an idea to franchise their booming youth based personal training business. The client had been operating for a number of years and had expanded into several locations within the city, and had reached the point […]
CASE Study – Protecting client data from employee theft
Case Study One – The entrepreneurial real estate agency and protecting client data Problem Client was a highly successful real estate agency that had expanded rapidly to have several offices across the city. By shear accident, the client discovered that former employees had taken client details from the agency databases prior to moving to competitors […]
It’s just paper right? Do I really need to read my Franchise Agreement?
The Franchise industry in Australia has been under scrutiny recently with the Senate inquiry into the Franchise Code of Conduct and subsequent report attracting significant media attention. With this in mind, and with changes likely to be made, it is more important now than ever that both franchisors and franchisees understand completely what is involved […]
Are you a company director? Be across the new rules.
The government has moved to tighten the rules around director resignations in a bid to crack down on backdating and company abandonment. With the wheels of the legislature moving again this week, the returned Coalition government yesterday introduced half a dozen reforms into parliament aimed at tackling the black economy. Under reforms tabled in the […]
Disclosures and the Franchise Code – The lesson of Ultra Tune
By a decision of the Federal Court on 18 January 2019 by Justice Bromwich, national franchisor Ultra Tune was ordered to pay fines totaling $2,604,000. The fines (known as pecuniary penalties) sought by the ACCC and awarded by the Court were for various breaches of the Franchising Code of Conduct (Code) and Australian Consumer Law. The […]
Psychometric testing for prospective franchisees. The way of the future?
Selecting a new franchisee can be a big risk for a franchise. Will this person perform well? Will they grow the business? Will their customers form a favourable opinion of the brand? But it’s also a big risk for a new franchisee, not only in terms of money, but also in terms of their time, […]