The ACCC now runs the Franchise Disclosure Register: what changed in 2025 and 2026
The Register changed hands in October 2025 and changed forms in March 2026, but franchisors' obligations stayed the same. Here is the timeline, who does what now, and how buyers and franchisors should use it.
Who administers the Franchise Disclosure Register?
- The Register stays free, public and online at franchisedisclosure.gov.au (s89).
- Before the transfer, Treasury ran the Register and the ACCC enforced it. Now the ACCC does both.
- Treasury's Secretary keeps one power: deciding, by legislative instrument, what extra information franchisors must provide (s92(4)).
- The explanatory statement for the amendment says the transfer made no changes to the requirements for franchisors.
- Since 1 April 2025, only a standard form agreement and a logo can be uploaded; disclosure documents and the abolished Key Facts Sheet can't, and earlier uploads are no longer publicly viewable.
Timeline: how the Register got here
- 14 March 2019: the Parliamentary Joint Committee's Fairness in Franchising report recommended a franchisor register, among 71 recommendations.
- August 2020: the Government's response committed to a public register of franchisors.
- 2022: the Register launched, after funding in the 2021–22 Budget, and franchisors have had to maintain a presence on it since 15 November 2022.
- December 2023: the Schaper review found the Register valuable but little known, and suggested that the ACCC run it and that profiles show whether arbitration is offered (implementation suggestions 10B and 11A).
- 1 April 2025: the new Code moved the Register rules to Part 7 and added the integrity and arbitration questions, and disclosure documents and Key Facts Sheets could no longer be uploaded.
- 20 and 21 October 2025: amendment F2025L01250 was registered on 20 October and took effect the next day, making the ACCC Chair the Register's keeper.
- 30 March 2026: the ACCC's new form and manner decision took effect for new and updated profiles, and the 2025 form instrument was repealed by F2026N00218, dated 26 March 2026.
- Before 1 April 2030: the next scheduled review of the Code must begin (s12).
What moved to the ACCC, and what stayed with Treasury?
- Keeping the Register moved to the ACCC Chair (s89).
- So did correcting clerical errors and removing or replacing information and documents (s91).
- Receiving franchisor information, and approving the form and manner for lodging it, also moved to the Chair (s92 and s93).
- The Chair can delegate these functions to senior ACCC staff (s96A).
- Treasury's Secretary kept the power to set, by legislative instrument, what additional information franchisors must provide, because of its policy nature (s92(4) and s93(4)).
- Existing instruments carried over: the 2025 approved form and manner instrument and the Additional Information Determination 2022 (s102 and s103). Only the ACCC was consulted, in August and September 2025, because the change was administrative.
What didn't change for franchisors
- First registration at least 14 days before your first franchise agreement (s92).
- Annual confirmation or update on or before the 14th day of the fifth month after year end: 14 November for a 30 June year end, 14 May for 31 December (s93).
- The same information fields, including costs, outlet numbers, supply restrictions, agreement terms and the integrity questions.
- Redaction rules before uploading your standard agreement or logo (s94).
- Agents can still lodge for you (s95).
- Penalties of up to 600 penalty units per contravention, $218,400 for conduct from 1 July 2026, with infringement notices as the ACCC's quicker option.
The 2026 form: how to lodge now
- From 30 March 2026, use the ACCC's new form whenever you create a new profile or update an existing one.
- If you have, or are entitled to, an ABN, lodge electronically through the online portal at franchisedisclosure.gov.au, or by email to the Register's address.
- If you don't have and aren't entitled to an ABN, lodge by email.
- The ACCC's decision says an editable version of the form is available on request.
- The decision was made under s92(3)(a) and s93(3)(a), after a consultation period with franchisors.
- Check your live profile after lodging, and keep a copy of what you lodged and when.
What buyers see on the Register
- Franchisor name, business names, ABN, addresses, phone, email and industry code.
- Years operating in Australia, numbers of franchised businesses, franchisees and company-owned businesses, and the states and territories involved.
- Whether the franchisor, its associates or their directors have serious offence convictions (10 years), final civil judgments on listed matters (5 years), or a history of bankruptcy or insolvency.
- Supply restrictions, upfront payments and refund conditions, start-up costs, and ongoing payments to the franchisor and to others.
- Whether the franchisor can change the agreement one-sidedly, whether arbitration is offered, the term, renewal options, goodwill rights and any restraint of trade.
- Optionally, the standard form franchise agreement and a logo, with personal and franchisee-specific details redacted.
- Not shown: disclosure documents, personal information about other individuals, or details of particular franchisees or sites (s90).
For buyers: using the Register now
- Check the franchisor is registered before you pay anything. The ACCC says a franchisor missing from the Register may not be meeting other requirements either.
- Compare the profile with the disclosure document: outlet numbers, costs, supply restrictions and integrity answers should line up.
- Remember the content is published by franchisors, as the ACCC's Register page says. When Treasury ran it, the terms of use said the government didn't endorse or check the information.
- Use the profile to shortlist, and the disclosure document and your advisers to decide.
- Report a missing, outdated or suspicious profile to the ACCC.
- Compare several systems in the same category. FranchiseScope's brand pages also show Register-sourced details.
Checklist for franchisors after the handover
- Your team knows the ACCC, not Treasury, now keeps the Register.
- Every profile created or updated since 30 March 2026 used the new form.
- Your annual deadline is diarised: on or before the 14th day of the fifth month after year end.
- Your profile matches your current disclosure document.
- Uploads are limited to your standard agreement and logo, properly redacted.
- Someone checks the live profile after each lodgement.
Sources
- Franchising Code of Conduct: Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes, Franchising) Regulations 2024, Federal Register of Legislation
- Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes, Franchising) Amendment (Franchise Disclosure Register) Regulations 2025 (F2025L01250), Federal Register of Legislation
- ACCC: ACCC updates the form and manner of the Franchise Disclosure Register (30 March 2026)
- ACCC: New form and manner decision in relation to Franchise Disclosure Register (30 March 2026)
- ACCC: OPSM and Laubman & Pank franchisor pays penalty for alleged breach of Franchising Code (30 March 2026)
- Treasury: New Franchising Code of Conduct, table of key changes (March 2025)
- Treasury: Independent Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct, final report (December 2023)
- ACCC: Franchise Disclosure Register
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Frequently asked questions
Who administers the Franchise Disclosure Register?
The ACCC. Since 21 October 2025 its Chair has kept the Register, taking over from Treasury's Secretary under the Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes, Franchising) Amendment (Franchise Disclosure Register) Regulations 2025. The ACCC already enforced the Register rules, so it now both runs and polices the Register.
Did franchisor obligations change when the ACCC took over?
No. The explanatory statement for the amendment says the transfer made no changes to the requirements for franchisors. You still register at least 14 days before your first franchise agreement, and confirm or update your profile each year, on or before the 14th day of the fifth month after your financial year ends.
What changed on 30 March 2026?
The ACCC's new form and manner decision took effect. Franchisors creating a new profile or updating an existing one must use the new form, lodging through the online portal if they have or are entitled to an ABN, or otherwise by email. The 2025 form instrument was repealed by an instrument dated 26 March 2026.
Can I upload my disclosure document to the Register?
No. Since 1 April 2025, the only documents a franchisor can include are its standard form franchise agreement and a logo, with personal information and details of particular franchisees or sites removed first (s90(4) and s94). Disclosure documents uploaded before that date are no longer publicly viewable.
Is the information on the Register checked by the government?
Don't assume so. The ACCC's Register page says all franchise content is published by franchisors, and when Treasury ran the Register its terms of use said the government didn't endorse or check the information. Treat each profile as the franchisor's own claims, and check them against the disclosure document with your lawyer.
Why did the Register move to the ACCC?
The Schaper review found Treasury had no formal enforcement role and limited ability to deal with poor-quality profiles, and recommended the ACCC run the Register. The explanatory statement says the transfer aligns administration with the ACCC's existing role as the Code's regulator, improving regulatory coherence and operational efficiency.
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