Service 02 · Legal & Compliance
Compliance is the floor — not the ceiling.
Australia's Franchising Code is one of the most prescriptive franchise regimes in the world. Get it wrong, and you do not have a franchise. Get it right, and you have the trust on which everything else rests.
The frame
What you must align to.
- The Franchising Code of Conduct — the regulatory spine, updated in 2024 and effective for new agreements thereafter.
- Australian Consumer Law — applies in parallel and never stops applying.
- ACCC guidance and enforcement priorities — what the regulator actually cares about this year.
- State-based Fair Trading regimes — most notably, Victoria's additional registration obligations.
- Privacy Act and Spam Act — relevant the moment you have a recruitment funnel and a CRM.
What we prepare
Four documents, one system.
01
Disclosure Document
The document a prospective franchisee receives at least fourteen days before signing. The Code is specific about what it must contain — and equally specific about what it cannot.
02
Franchise Agreement
The contract that governs everything that follows it. Drafted with a view to operating reality, not just regulatory minimums.
03
Information Statement
The Code-mandated plain-language summary. Often treated as a formality. Read carefully by every franchisee.
04
Compliance Handbook
Internal — for the team that has to live the documents day to day. The renewal calendar, the disclosure update workflow, the marketing fund reporting.
Where it goes wrong
Common traps.
- ▸Marketing fund language that doesn't survive ACCC review.
- ▸Renewal mechanics that conflict with the Code's transfer provisions.
- ▸Territory definitions that don't hold up under second-look.
- ▸Earnings representations made informally that later become contested.
- ▸Group structures where intra-brand licensing is undocumented.
Timeline
Five to seven weeks, end to end.
Week 1
Review
Of any existing documents and structure
Weeks 2–4
Drafting
DD, FA, Info Statement, Handbook
Weeks 5–6
Founder review
Walkthrough, edits, sign-off
Week 7
Final
Lodgement where required, distribution-ready set
From our practice
A particular treatment.
Lermont — drafting the intra-group licensing between two sister brands ahead of a 2 → 5 expansion.
Lermont Laser Clinic and Lermont Skincare operate side by side under one parent. The Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement had to reflect both the shared brand and the distinct treatment models — without creating compliance exposure when the third clinic opens in Chatswood.
Read the case study →