Buying a franchise

How buying a franchise works, step by step

The Franchising Code of Conduct is a mandatory industry code, set out in the franchising regulations made in 2024 under the Competition and Consumer Act³, that applies to every business and individual involved in franchising in Australia⁴. A new version started on 1 April 2025, with some rules applying from 1 November 2025, and it covers agreements entered into, extended, renewed or transferred from 1 April 2025⁴.

The steps, in order:

• The franchisor gives you an information statement within 7 days of you showing interest, before any other document¹.
• The franchisor gives you the disclosure document at least 14 days before you sign a franchise agreement⁵.
• You also get a copy of the code itself and the franchise agreement at least 14 days before signing¹. If you will be leasing or occupying premises from the franchisor or its associate, you get the lease documents too¹. Any other agreement you have to enter as a condition of the franchise, such as a guarantee or loan agreement, has to be given to you at least 14 days before signing, if available¹.
• Once you have all the documents in their final form, there is a mandatory 14 day waiting period during which neither you nor the franchisor can enter the agreement¹.
• After you sign, you have a further 14 day cooling off period, covered below.

business.gov.au recommends completing the ACCC's free online franchising course and checking the franchisor through the Franchise Disclosure Register and an ASIC Connect search⁶.

What the disclosure document has to tell you

The disclosure document has to include a solvency statement, signed by at least one director, reflecting the franchisor's position at the end of its last financial year, backed by financial reports for the past two years or an independent audit⁵. It also has to cover setup and running costs, supply arrangements and rebates, contact details for current and past franchisees, legal history, and future capital expenditure you could be asked to fund⁵.

Earnings information is optional, but if a franchisor includes it, the document has to say it is accurate to the best of the franchisor's knowledge, except for information it specifies is not accurate⁵. If a franchisor chooses not to disclose earnings information, it has to say so at item 20 of the disclosure document⁵.

Franchisors have to update the disclosure document annually, generally within 4 months of the start of their financial year for agreements made after 1 April 2025⁵. As an existing franchisee, you can ask for an updated copy once every 12 months, and the franchisor has 2 months to provide it⁵. Franchisors must keep disclosure documents and supporting material for at least 6 years⁵.

The cooling off period

Once you have signed a new franchise agreement, you have a 14 day cooling off period in which you can terminate it and get some or all of your money back². To end the agreement this way, you must give the franchisor written notice². If you have already paid the franchisor and change your mind within the 14 days, the franchisor has to return that money within 14 days of you telling them². The franchisor can keep some of that money if it is for reasonable expenses relating to the termination, but only if the franchise agreement sets out those expenses or how they are worked out². Ending the franchise agreement this way only ends that agreement; it does not end a lease or any other agreement you have signed, so check what you owe under those separately².

If an existing agreement is transferred to you from another franchisee, you have a similar right: you can terminate it by giving written notice by whichever happens earlier, 14 days after you become the new franchisee, or the day you take possession and control of the franchised business².

The cooling off period does not apply if you are renewing or extending an existing agreement⁷. From 1 November 2025, you can also opt out of it by written notice if you have recently had a substantially similar agreement with the same franchisor for substantially the same business, but doing so gives up your right to cool off and get a refund on the new agreement, so read that clause carefully before agreeing to waive it².

Before you sign

Everything above is a floor, not a substitute for reading the documents. Use the full waiting period to read everything. Have your accountant test the numbers in the disclosure document against your own due diligence, and have a lawyer check the franchise agreement and any lease alongside it. If you are financing the purchase, sort that out early; see finance to buy a business. Some buyers use a buyer's agent to manage this process end to end; Signetry itself only lists franchises and other businesses for sale, it is not a party to the agreement.