Submission to Treasury Consultation Paper - Franchise Licensing
09 December 2024
The Business Council of Australia (BCA) welcomes the opportunity to respond to Treasury's consultation paper concerning whether the Australian Government should consider establishing a licensing regime for the franchising sector following a recommendation from the Independent Review of the Franchising Code of Conduct (the Review).
The BCA notes that the recommendation to consider whether a licensing regime should be implemented was in addition to a raft of recommendations to amend the Franchising Code itself (the Code) - those changes remain subject to the outcome of a recent Exposure Draft consultation process. The starting point must be to clearly identify and define the problem to solve for - rather than a licensing regime as a solution in search of a problem. A comprehensive policy development process should follow best practice principles as set out by the Office of Impact Analysis, including the seven impact analysis questions. This should include consideration of how and why existing laws and regulations may be inadequate, as well as the proposed significant changes to the Franchising Code. A targeted solution should deliver on the policy intent at least cost.