Inquiry into the Franchising Code of Conduct
Information about the Inquiry
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On 25 June 2008 the Committee resolved to inquire into the Franchising Code of Conduct and related matters. The Committee will report by 1 December 2008. The terms of reference are:
The Committee is to inquire and report on the operation of the Franchising Code of Conduct, and to identify, where justified, improvements to the Code, with particular reference to:
- the nature of the franchising industry, including the rights of both franchisors and franchisees;
- whether an obligation for franchisors, franchisees and prospective franchisees to act in good faith should be explicitly incorporated into the Code (having regard to its presence as an element in paragraph 51AC(4)(k) of the Trade Practices Act 1974);
- interaction between the Code and Part IVA and Part V Division 1 of the Trade Practices Act 1974, particularly with regard to the obligations in section 51AC of the Act;
- the operation of the dispute resolution provisions under Part 4 of the Code; and
- any other related matters.
The Committee invites submissions by 12 September 2008. Please send submissions to corporations.joint@aph.gov.au or by post to:
Secretary, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services
Department of the Senate
PO Box 6100 Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Emailed submissions should include full name, address and phone contact details so we can verify them.
Submissions become Committee documents and should not be made public before the Committee has done so. The Committee normally makes submissions public including by posting them on the internet. The Committee will consider requests to make a confidential submission. Further information about making submissions is at https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Making_a_submission
The focus of this joint parliamentary committee
inquiry is on addressing the structural issues relating to franchising
agreements in Australia. The committee is investigating deficiencies in
the operation of the Franchising Code of Conduct and related legislation,
and ways in which they might be improved. Although the committee is
interested in hearing a broad range of franchising experiences, it has
decided that it will not publish the details of individuals or
corporations adversely commented on in submissions. Material deemed to
have fallen within this category will be deleted and the amended version
of the submission made public. Submitters should be aware that only the
version of the submissions published by the committee will be protected by
parliamentary privilege. Further information on parliamentary privilege is
contained under point 9 at
http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/wit_sub/bro_one.htm.
For further information please contact the committee secretary on 02 6277 3583 or at corporations.joint@aph.gov.au
The Franchising Code of Conduct is a mandatory industry code established under section 51AE of the Trade Practices Act 1974. The Code and related information is available from http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/815503
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia