New franchising penalties introduced 2022

NEW FRANCHISING PENALTIES

The Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes - Franchising) Amendment (Penalties and Other Matters) Regulations 2022 (Penalty Regulations) was published in March 2022 and amends the Franchising Code by introducing or significantly amending penalties in Franchising Code:

The Penalty Regulations introduce new penalty provisions that will apply to breaches of the Franchising Code that consist of:

• a failure to disclose materially relevant facts in relation to financial details and other matters such as change of ownership, criminal or civil proceedings or judgment recorded against the franchisor, before a prospective franchisee enters into a franchise agreement or within a reasonable time after the franchisor becomes aware of them;