The new Franchising Code of Conduct provides that a franchisor must give a franchisee a copy of the disclosure document within 14 days of a written request by the franchisee.
That is nothing new and a similar clause is contained in the current Franchising Code of Conduct.
However, the new Code provides for a penalty of up to 300 penalty units if the franchisor does not comply with the request on time.
That is a potential penalty of up to $51,000!
Franchisors be warned, you must have your staff trained and up to date on the changes to the Code and a failure to do so may mean a request sits on a staff member's desk unactioned and you get a penalty.
