Retail franchises in Australia in 2026: leases, stock and the online question

• Retail leases are governed by state and territory laws that differ: NSW requires the landlord's disclosure statement at least 7 days before the lease is entered into, Victoria at least 14 days.
• Supply rules are common: 77 of 119 retail profiles (64.7%) restrict where you can buy goods or services.
• The disclosure document must say whether you can sell online, whether the franchisor or other franchisees sell online into your territory, and any profit sharing on online sales.
• For agreements from 1 November 2025, if the franchisor ends yours early because it changes its distribution model, it must compensate you and buy back, or pay you for, specified stock and essential branded equipment.
• Junior wages are changing: under the Retail Award, employees aged 18 to 20 with more than 6 months' service will move to adult rates, possibly from 1 December 2026.

FranchiseScope analysed the Franchise Disclosure Register profiles of 120 retail franchisors, captured on 19 August 2026. The answers are self-reported by franchisors.

• Setup costs: the median low estimate was $200,000 (92 profiles) and the median high estimate was $511,000 (93 profiles), against $146,984 and $400,000 across all categories.
• System size: the median system reported 18 franchisees (119 profiles), compared with 9 across all profiles.
• Restraint of trade: 89 of 110 profiles (80.9%) include one, compared with 90.5% across all categories.
• Goodwill: 7 of 98 profiles (7.1%) say franchisees have any rights to goodwill they generate, compared with 10.5% overall.
• Supply restrictions: 77 of 119 profiles (64.7%) restrict where you can buy goods or services, compared with 70.2% overall.
• One-sided changes: 29 of 119 profiles (24.4%) let the franchisor vary the agreement on its own, compared with 27.6% overall.
• Arbitration: 56 of 102 profiles (54.9%) provide for arbitration of disputes, compared with 63.8% overall.

Retail leases are regulated by each state and territory, and the details differ, so check your state's rules and its small business commissioner. Two examples:

• NSW: the landlord must give you a written disclosure statement at least 7 days before the lease is entered into, and you must give yours within 7 days of receiving it or ask for more time.
• The NSW statement covers the term and options, rent and rent reviews, fit-out works, outgoings and trading hours, and for shopping centres details such as annual turnover, anchor tenants, the floor plan and tenancy mix.
• Victoria: the landlord must give you a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before you enter the lease. If they arrive later, the lease starts 14 days after you receive them.
• Victoria's Act contemplates a minimum five-year term, including options, unless the tenant obtains a waiver certificate from the Victorian Small Business Commission.
• Franchising Code: if the franchisor or an associate leases you the premises, you must get the head lease or a summary of its commercial terms before you sign.
• Line up the lease term, options and fit-out obligations with your franchise term, so you aren't left with a lease and no franchise, or the reverse.

• Nominated suppliers: most retail systems require you to buy from the franchisor or approved suppliers, so ask for the price list and compare it with the market.
• Rebates: the disclosure document must describe supplier rebates the franchisor or its associates receive, including an aggregate percentage of group purchases.
• Minimum stock and range: check how much stock you must carry, who bears the risk of unsold lines, and whether slow stock can be returned.
• Pricing: check who sets retail prices and promotions, and who funds the discounts.
• Working capital: opening stock and seasonal buys tie up cash before they sell, so budget for them on top of the setup estimate.
• Refits: significant capital expenditure the franchisor expects must be described in disclosure documents created from 1 November 2025, and it can only require unplanned refits in limited circumstances.

Item 12 of the disclosure document deals with online sales. It must tell you:

• Whether you may sell goods of the same type or brand online, and any restrictions or conditions on doing so.
• Whether you can sell through third-party websites, and the franchisor's conditions on using them.
• How far your online sales can reach outside your territory.
• Whether the franchisor, its associates or other franchisees sell, or expect to sell, online, how far those sales reach into your territory, and the address of any third-party site used.
• Any profit-sharing arrangements on online sales that affect you, and whether the franchisor can change them on its own.
• Separately, for agreements from 1 November 2025, the agreement must say how you will be compensated if it ends early because the franchisor changes its distribution model, by reference to lost profit, unrecovered capital spending it asked for, lost goodwill and wind-up costs.

• Retail staff such as sales assistants, stock hands and store managers are generally covered by the General Retail Industry Award.
• Employees aged 18 to 20 under the Retail Award who have been employed for more than 6 months will be entitled to adult rates, and the Fair Work Commission has said changes could start from 1 December 2026.
• Shopping centre trading hours, which appear in NSW lease disclosure statements, drive your rosters and weekend and public holiday penalty rates.
• A franchisor can be held responsible for a franchisee's underpayments in some circumstances, so expect a careful franchisor to check your payroll.

• Sales forecasts that aren't in the disclosure document as earnings information, or can't be traced to real stores.
• Vague answers to item 12, such as a franchisor that reserves all online sales without saying how far they reach into your territory.
• Nominated supplier prices well above the market, with rebates the franchisor won't explain.
• A lease that ends before your franchise term, or a franchise that ends before your lease.
• Refit or relocation costs that appear only after you sign.
• Many stores changing hands or closing in the last three years, or former franchisees who won't talk.
• Pressure to sign quickly. The franchisor can't sign until 14 days after you receive the disclosure document, a copy of the Code and the agreement in its final form, and must refund any payment made in that window within 14 days of your written request.

• Compare the franchisor's Register profile with its disclosure document, remembering that Register answers are self-reported.
• Read item 12 on online sales and item 10 on supply and rebates line by line.
• Get the landlord's disclosure statement and the proposed lease, and check the timing rules in your state.
• Line up the lease and franchise terms, options, refit and make-good obligations.
• Build a stock and cash flow plan that includes opening stock and seasonal buys.
• Model rosters at award rates for the centre's trading hours, including junior pay changes.
• Call current and former franchisees about sales, stock, online competition and support.
• Get independent legal, accounting and leasing advice before you sign.