Strengthening the enforcement of the Franchising Code

Minister for Small Business Julie Collins has announced the Government will aim to strengthen the enforcement of the Franchising Code of Conduct and extend protections from Unfair Contract Terms and Unfair Trading Practices to all businesses regulated under the Code, including automotive dealerships.

This initiative will be complemented by funding of $7.1m over 2 years from 2025–26 to strengthen the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) enforcement of the Franchising Code of Conduct.

The extension of these protections will progress alongside other work focused on addressing business power imbalances, including the statutory review of the 2022 amendments to the Unfair Contract Terms regime, due to commence later in 2025, and consultation on extending Unfair Trading Practices protections to small businesses.