By Staff Writer
The Federal Government has released a consultation paper after an independent review of the Franchising Code of Conduct was conducted.
The review report, which was prepared by franchise expert Alan Wein, makes 18 recommendations, including the insertion of an obligation to act in good faith into the Code, and the introduction of civil pecuniary penalties for breaches of the Code.
There are also a number of recommendations aimed at addressing specific problematic areas such as the issue of franchisor failure, simplifying compliance and improving regulatory certainty.
The Government is now calling for comments on the paper, which can be downloaded here. The recommendations need to be submitted to the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education at franchisingcodereview@innovation.gov.au by July 9.
The Franchise Council of Australia will be playing a lead a role in the consultation process with the body already submitting a brief welcoming the recommendations made by Wein.
“The Franchise Council of Australia looks forward to working collaboratively with the Government during consultation and supporting its initial brief of the review,” Michael Paul, FCA chairman, said.
The review was first initiated by former Minister for Small Business Brendan O’Connor in January. It’s focused on reviewing the 2008 and 2010 amendments that were made to the Code.