Buying a courier franchise in Australia: runs, rates and the contract to check

• Income can move with parcel volumes, rates, fuel costs and the franchisor's customer contracts, so treat any weekly figure as an estimate until you have tested it.
• Promised minimums need proof: in 2021 the Federal Court ordered a courier franchisor to pay $1.9 million in penalties over guaranteed weekly payments and annual income it wasn't paying.
• Your status matters: some courier contractors may be regulated road transport contractors, with Fair Work protections that started on 26 August 2024.
• The Heavy Vehicle National Law applies to vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass, and it hasn't commenced in Western Australia or the Northern Territory.
• Businesses that pay contractors for courier services must report those payments to the ATO in a taxable payments annual report by 28 August each year.

Courier systems pay in different ways, and the pay method decides who carries the risk. Ask for the exact method in writing.

• Per delivery or per drop: you earn for each parcel or stop, so volume and route density drive your income.
• Per hour or per day: a set rate for your time, which may still change if volumes fall or a customer contract changes.
• Per run: a fixed payment for a regular route, which can change if the franchisor's customer changes the work.
• Fuel levies and surcharges: ask whether rates adjust for fuel prices and how often rates are reviewed.
• Deductions: franchise fees, insurance, scanner or app fees, uniforms and any charges for damaged or late freight.
• Customer contracts: if the franchisor holds the contract with the business customer and allocates the work to you, ask what happens if that customer leaves.
• Buying a run: if you buy an existing run, ask for 12 months of payment statements and the history of rate changes.

• The vehicle: a van, ute or truck suited to the freight, bought, leased or financed, plus signage if the brand requires it.
• Running costs: fuel, tyres, servicing, registration, insurance, tolls and parking, which rise with the kilometres you drive.
• Equipment: scanners or phones, trolleys, straps and any refrigeration for temperature-controlled freight.
• Tax: the ATO treats vehicles designed to carry one tonne or more, such as panel vans, as vehicles that aren't cars, so the car depreciation limit doesn't apply, but you can claim only the business-use share, which you must be able to justify with records.
• Heavy vehicles: vehicles over 4.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass fall under the Heavy Vehicle National Law. It hasn't commenced in WA or the NT, but applies to vehicles from those jurisdictions when they cross into participating ones.
• Finance: add repayments to your weekly budget and check what happens to the vehicle if the franchise ends early.

Courier franchisees run their own businesses, but labels don't decide legal status. Two sets of rules are worth understanding.

• Whole of relationship test: from 26 August 2024, constitutionally covered businesses use a test that looks at the real substance and practical reality of the relationship, including control, financial risk, who supplies the vehicle and equipment, the ability to subcontract, hours and the expectation of ongoing work.
• Regulated road transport contractors: a contractor in the road transport industry who is party to a services contract, personally or through their company, trust or partnership, and performs all or most of the work under it.
• From 26 August 2024 the Fair Work Commission can make minimum standards orders, which are legally binding, and guidelines, which aren't, for regulated road transport contractors. They can cover matters such as payment, insurance and cost recovery.
• Unfair termination: an eligible regulated road transport contractor who has worked regularly for a road transport business for at least 6 months, and earns under the relevant high income threshold, can apply to the Commission within 21 days of termination.
• From 26 February 2025, road transport businesses must follow the Road Transport Industry Termination Code before ending a regulated road transport contractor's contract.
• The Fair Work Ombudsman says a separate road transport contractor high income threshold will be set by regulation, so check the current figure before relying on it.
• If you engage your own drivers, they may be employees. The Road Transport and Distribution Award 2020 covers employed couriers who use a car, van, motorcycle or bicycle, or deliver on foot.
• Whether a particular courier franchise arrangement falls under these rules depends on its facts, so get legal advice before you sign.

Some courier offers promise a minimum weekly payment or a guaranteed run. Treat a guarantee as a contract term you must test.

• March 2021: Megasave Couriers Australia Pty Ltd admitted that from at least September 2019 to July 2020 it told prospective franchisees they would receive guaranteed minimum weekly payments, typically $2,000 a week, and a guaranteed annual income, usually $91,000.
• It wasn't paying existing franchisees those minimum payments, didn't have enough revenue to pay them, and admitted it had no reasonable basis for the claims.
• April 2021: the Federal Court ordered $1.9 million in penalties against Megasave and $120,000 against its sole director, plus $500,000 in partial redress. Its franchises were most commonly sold for about $27,500 including GST.
• The ACCC's model disclosure document guidance says an income guarantee may need to be disclosed as future earnings information, which must be in the disclosure document or an attachment.
• A projection must state its facts and assumptions, the period it covers and whether it includes depreciation, your salary and loan costs.
• Ask how many current franchisees receive any guaranteed amount, and ask them directly whether it is paid on time.

FranchiseScope analysed 13 courier and logistics franchisors' profiles on the Franchise Disclosure Register, captured on 19 August 2026. The sample is very small and the answers are self-reported.

• Setup costs: of 10 profiles that disclosed them, the median low estimate was $55,000 and the median high estimate was $135,000.
• System size: the median profile reported 22 franchisees (12 profiles), more than double the median of 9 across all profiles.
• One-sided changes: 5 of 12 profiles (41.7%) say the franchisor can vary the agreement on its own, the highest share of any category in the analysis and well above the 27.6% across all categories.
• Goodwill: none of the 10 profiles that answered say franchisees have rights to goodwill they generate.
• Restraint of trade: all 9 profiles that answered include a restraint of trade or similar clause.
• Term: 7 of 12 profiles list a term of 5 years or more.
• Arbitration: 6 of 8 profiles say the agreement provides for arbitration of disputes.

• A guaranteed weekly amount that appears only in advertising or conversation, or that the franchisor can't show it is paying current franchisees.
• A run price you can't check against 12 months of payment statements.
• Rates the franchisor can cut at any time, with no notice or review process.
• Deductions for damage, lateness or equipment that aren't set out in the agreement.
• A requirement to buy a specific vehicle through the franchisor at a price above independent quotes.
• One-sided variation clauses combined with no goodwill rights, which leave you little to sell if the terms change.
• Pressure to commit before the 14-day consideration period ends. Any payment made in that period must be refunded within 14 days of your written request.

• Get 12 months of payment statements for the run or territory you are buying.
• Get the rate card, the fuel levy method and the list of deductions in writing.
• Ask who holds the customer contracts and what happens if a major customer leaves.
• Check the vehicle's GVM, payload and total cost, including finance.
• Ask a lawyer whether you could be a regulated road transport contractor and what that would mean for you.
• Call former franchisees listed in the disclosure document.
• Check any guarantee against the earnings information in the disclosure document.
• Get independent legal and accounting advice before you sign.