The Federal Government is still considering the nature and
extent of the changes necessary to the Franchising Code of Conduct.
It is understood that the Government is under pressure to introduce
into the Code an explicit good faith obligation to address what is
painted as "franchisor opportunism", a vague new term
that appears to have surfaced in recent times. This is despite
almost universal acceptance of the view that the introduction of an
express good faith obligation into the Code would create
significant contractual uncertainty.
At a well attended session during the Legal Symposium at the
Franchise Council of Australia Convention a debate on good faith
was conducted between Professor Andrew Terry of the University of
New South Wales, and Bond University academic Dr Elizabeth Spencer.
Prof Terry argued that the introduction of a statutory duty of good
faith was totally inappropriate, providing specific examples of the
legal problems that would arise. On the other
