On 1 April 2022, the Franchising Code of Conduct (‘Code’) was amended by the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes – Franchising) Amendment (Franchise Disclosure Register) Regulations 2022 (‘Franchise Disclosure Register Regulations’) to insert a new clause 53 and other provisions in relation to the Franchise Disclosure Register. See our article regarding the Franchise Disclosure Register Regulations here.
On 14 April 2022, a new compilation of the Code was registered (‘Compilation 7’) which incorporates all changes made up to 1 April 2022, being the changes made by the Franchise Disclosure Register Regulations.
Compilation 7 does not include the changes to the penalties and other changes made by the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes – Franchising) Amendment (Penalties and Other Matters) Regulations 2022 (‘Penalties Regulations’), which became effective on 15 April 2022. See our article regarding the Penalties Regulations here.
We expect to see a further compilation of the Code incorporating the Penalties Regulations very soon.
However, until then, when providing disclosure to prospective franchisees or existing franchisees, franchisors must provide Compilation 7 and the Penalties Regulations. A copy of Compilation 7 can be found here and a copy of the Penalties Regulations can be found here.
If you have any queries, you are welcome to contact the HWL Ebsworth Lawyers Franchising team.
This article was written by Louise Wolf, Special Counsel and reviewed by Sean O’Donnell, Partner.
