WA legislation stopped in its tracks – for now

The proposed Western Australian franchising legislation has at the 11th hour been consigned to a Parliamentary Committee for further consideration thanks to the substantial efforts of the franchising community. Norton Rose Australia partners Stephen Giles and Tamra Seaton were on the front line, explaining the true implications and flaws in this proposed law, and asking the hard questions. But the battle continues, with those behind the law flagging a continuation of their activities in WA, SA and possibly other States.

Many commentators and law firms were predicting that the legislation would be enacted, and indeed one blog sympathetic to the lobbyists behind the legislation had prematurely popped the champagne corks. We were more confident that logic would finally prevail. The one thing we have learnt over the past 12 years or more assisting the Franchise Council of Australia with its industry submissions is that the key to political lobbying is not lobbying per