Annual obligation - Do you need to confirm or update your existing franchise profile published on the Register by 14 November 2023?

To meet your annual obligation under the Franchising Code of Conduct if you operate your franchise business using the Australian financial year (1 July – 30 June), you must confirm or update your existing franchise profile by the fourteenth (14th) day of the fifth (5th) month from the end of your last financial year (14 November 2023).

Log into the Register portal using your Digital Identity (myGovID) and select the Create a new version or update existing franchise profile tile, there is guidance in the Register portal to help.

Remember to check any documents you want to upload before you publish them with your franchise profile, as you must redact or remove all personal and/or sensitive information.

Check if Your contact details are up to date, we will use these details if we need to contact you. Your details will not display on the public Register.

Annual obligation - Update or confirm details in a franchise profile

Major Updates to an existing franchise profile

You can Create a New Version when making major updates to your franchise profile. When the new version is published, it will display on the Register. The superseded version will be removed from the Register but can be viewed by selecting the Superseded Profiles option.

Minor Updates to an existing franchise profile

You can make minor updates without creating a new version. It is recommended to download and save a copy of the franchise profile before making any updates. To do this, select Download Profile and save a copy.

Make the changes to the existing franchise profile and select Save and publish at the bottom of the page. The updated franchise profile will display on the Register, but the old version will not be available in the Superseded Profiles section.

To confirm that the information in your franchise profile remains current and if no changes are required, update the Year in which the last financial year ends field in the Disclosure Information section, then select Save and publish at the bottom of the page. The confirmed franchise profile will display on the Register.

Franchisors must be on the Register

The Franchising Code of Conduct requires certain franchisors to create a franchise profile on the Register.

If you are required to be on the Register you also need to confirm or update your franchise profile each year to meet your annual obligation under the Franchising Code. You must do this before the fourteenth (14th) day of the fifth (5th) month following the end of your financial year. This is to make sure the Register includes the most recent and accurate information.

Once your franchise profile is published on the Register, your information can be viewed by prospective franchisees and public users.

Full and complete Disclosure Documents must still be provided directly to prospective franchisees as required under the Franchise code.

If you are unsure about your obligations under the Franchising Code, you should seek professional advice.

Exemptions

Master franchisors are exempt from having a profile on the Register if they only have one Australian subfranchisor, and no intention to grant further franchises.

For franchisors exempted from updating disclosure documents under Clause 8(7) of the Franchising Code of Conduct, they must still maintain a presence on, and update their Register profile each year.

Use Digital Identity to log in to the Register

You must have a Digital Identity to be able to log in to the Register. myGovID is the Australian Government’s Digital Identity app and you will need to meet the eligibility requirements for Standard identity strength.

Find out more about Digital Identity at www.digitalidentity.gov.au.

Find out how to setup a myGovID at www.mygovid.gov.au/setup.

You also need to link your Digital Identity to your ABN in Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM). How to do this depends on your role. Find out more at info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/get-started.

When following the process for authorising others, ensure the:

• Representative type is Standard user
• Agency access is Full for Treasury.

Find out more about authorising others at info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/set-up-authorisations.

Franchisors can authorise a representative to access the Register

Representatives (such as lawyers) can access the Register on behalf of the franchisor.

Representatives will need to be authorised to act on behalf of the franchisor's ABN for interactions with the Department of the Treasury. Representatives will also need their own Digital Identity.

When assigning permissions to representatives, make sure to select The Treasury (full access) under agency access.

Find out how to set up authorisations at info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/set-up-authorisations.

Find out how to accept an authorisation at info.authorisationmanager.gov.au/authorised-users-and-administrators.

Franchisors without an ABN

The Register authenticates franchisors using their Digital Identity (myGovID) which is linked to their Australian Business Number (ABN) via Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM).

Franchisors that are unable to obtain an ABN (e.g. foreign franchisors), can email info@franchisedisclosure.gov.au for options to create a new, confirm or update an existing franchise profile on the Register.

Franchisor Dashboard

You can access your Franchisor Dashboard after logging in to the Register using your Digital Identity. From the Franchisor Dashboard, you can select:

Your contact details

Record and update your contact details. The fields marked with an (*) are mandatory and the other is optional to complete. This information is not available to the public and is used if we need to contact you.

Create a new franchise profile

Select this tile when you are creating a new franchise profile for the first time

Create a new version or update existing franchise profile

Select this tile to confirm, update and maintain an existing franchise profile to meet your annual obligations. You can also preview, view superseded, unpublish and delete franchise profiles from here.

Completing a franchise profile

When completing a franchise profile there are mandatory and optional fields.

Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are mandatory and you must complete these fields – there is information next to each field that will help you.

Business Details

All fields are mandatory in this section, with the exception of the ABN – this field will auto-populate.

Disclosure Information

Complete the fields for last month and year in which the last financial year ends.

Your answer for the field Is the franchisor required to update their Disclosure Document for the last financial year will determine if the following fields are mandatory or optional to complete.

If you answer Yes, the remaining Disclosure Document fields are mandatory.

If you answer No, the remaining Disclosure Document fields are optional for you to complete.

Public contact details

The Franchisor email and Franchisor phone number fields are mandatory, and the Franchisor website is optional.

Completing a franchise profile - Uploading documents

It is optional to upload or provide a link to your:

You can choose not to upload any of these documents.

If you choose to upload your document(s), ensure you have removed or redacted personal and sensitive information that relate to an individual (for example, signatures, personal email addresses and phone numbers) other than the franchisor, a franchisee or a site occupied by a franchisee. Your document may be removed from the Register if it is published with personal and/or sensitive information.

Franchisors operating on a non-Australian financial year

If you operate your franchise business outside of the Australian financial year, you still must confirm or update your existing franchise profile published on the Register to meet your annual obligations. Your franchise profile is due by the fourteenth (14th) day of the fifth (5th) month from the end of your financial year.

There is guidance in the Register portal that will help you confirm or update your franchise profile. If the Treasury has previously published your franchise profile as you do not access the Register portal, you can email us at info@franchisedisclosure.gov.au.

Multiple franchise systems

You can manage multiple franchise profiles from the Franchise Dashboard if each franchise business operates under the same business identifier, for example, an Australian Business Number (ABN).

If you have multiple franchise businesses (brands) operating under different business identifiers (ABN’s) you will need to select the franchise business you are acting on behalf of when logging into the Register portal via Digital Identity (myGovID) and Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM).

Privacy

The Treasury administers the Franchise Disclosure Register and is bound by the Australian Privacy Principles of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Learn more about the Privacy Policy for franchisors.