Franchising · Australia
Franchising Code Disclosure Document Template
The disclosure document is where franchisors get caught, and the annual update deadline moved under the new Code. Built to the current required structure and the timing that goes with it.
What this document does
The document a franchisee reads before signing
A disclosure document is not marketing. It is a prescribed set of disclosures a franchisor must give a prospective franchisee before the agreement is signed, and keep current every year. Most Code breaches the ACCC pursues are failures of timing or completeness here rather than anything in the agreement itself.
What’s included
Contents required by the Code
- Franchisor details, business experience and litigation history
- Existing and former franchisee contact details
- Site, territory and supply arrangements
- Fees, and the marketing or specific purpose fund statement
- Significant capital expenditure franchisees may face
- Intellectual property and rights granted
- Earnings information, where any is given
The law that applies
Contents, timing and records
Contents. Under the Code in force from 1 April 2025, the required contents of the disclosure document are set by Schedule 1 — not the Annexure 1 structure of the old Code. A document still built to the old structure is not compliant.
Fourteen days. The disclosure document must be given to a prospective franchisee at least 14 days before the franchise agreement is signed.
Annual update. For agreements made after 1 April 2025, the update is due within 4 months of the first day of the franchisor’s financial year — so 31 October for a 1 July year start. For agreements made before that date, it runs within 4 months after the end of the financial year. The two are easy to conflate and the deadline is the one franchisors most often miss.
Records. Records of each disclosure document given must be kept for at least 6 years.
From 1 November 2025. Significant capital expenditure must be disclosed and discussed with prospective franchisees, and additional disclosure obligations attach to specific purpose funds.
What goes wrong
Pitfalls we see in practice
Missing the annual update deadline
This is the most common Code breach there is, and the least dramatic — nobody notices until the ACCC or a disgruntled franchisee does. For agreements entered into after 1 April 2025 the update falls due within four months of the first day of the financial year, which for a 1 July year means 31 October. The date moved. Diary reminders set under the old Code point at the wrong month entirely.
Still using the old Annexure 1 structure
The prescribed contents now sit in Schedule 1. A document built to the old structure may carry most of the right information and still fail, because compliance is measured against the current prescribed contents — not against whether the franchisee came away broadly informed.
An incomplete or out-of-date former franchisee list
Prospective franchisees are entitled to contact former franchisees, and the ones who left unhappy are exactly the ones a franchisor is tempted to leave off. Omission is also the breach most likely to be found, because those missing names are precisely who a careful buyer goes looking for.
Capital expenditure known about but not disclosed
If a refit programme, point-of-sale upgrade or new store standard is in contemplation, it is disclosable. “Not finalised yet” is not the test — the obligation is to disclose significant capital expenditure a franchisee may face, and to discuss it with them before they sign.
Questions
Frequently asked
When is my disclosure document update due?
For franchise agreements entered into after 1 April 2025, within 4 months of the first day of your financial year — 31 October if your year starts 1 July. For agreements made before that date, within 4 months after the end of the financial year. Check which limb applies to you; the wording changed and the dates differ.
What has to go in a disclosure document?
The contents are prescribed by Schedule 1 of the Code and cover franchisor details and litigation history, existing and former franchisees, sites and territory, supply arrangements, fees and funds, significant capital expenditure, intellectual property, and earnings information if any is given.
What happens if the disclosure document is late or incomplete?
Giving it inside the 14 days means the agreement cannot be validly signed when intended. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure exposes the franchisor to ACCC enforcement and civil penalties, and can give the franchisee remedies. This is the most heavily enforced part of the Code.
Legally reviewed by [REVIEWER NAME], practising Australian solicitor — [DATE]. [DRAFT: confirm reviewer and date before publishing.]