On 3 June 2010, the Government released the Trade Practices (Industry Codes – Franchising) Amendment Regulations 2010 made under section 172 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Regulations). The Regulations give effect to the Government's proposed reforms to the Franchising Code outlined in our March 2010 update, which you can view here.

In essence, the Regulations increase franchisors' disclosure obligations, providing clearer information upfront to prospective franchisees about the franchise system. The Regulations will commence on 1 July 2010 and franchisors are responsible for ensuring that their disclosure documents incorporate the additional disclosure requirements.

Franchisors are required to update their disclosure documents annually, within four months of the end of the financial year (that is, by 31 October). In view of the above changes, franchisors must ensure that when updating their disclosure documents this year they are careful to include the additional disclosure requirements.

The full article is available at Mondaq.