Franchising in Australia is a $174 billion industry annually. This industry includes over 1,200 networks and more than 94,000 individual franchised outlets. These franchisees employ at least 565,500 Australians across the nation. Source: Franchise Council of Australia
Today, there is a franchise for just about every category of business.
Whilst these franchises can differ from relatively simple business to very complex, they own a substantial market share and create employment and achievement for the nation. And particularly for those franchisees that discover success and autonomy through self-employment and an improved quality of life.
The Role of the ACCC in Franchising
The Franchising Code of Conduct applies to all franchising in Australia and is monitored and regulated by the ACCC. They also provide guidance about the code.
The overarching role of the ACCC is for regulating the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. This includes some of the laws that businesses in Australia must follow, which includes the Franchising Code of Conduct. They do this through education, encouraging compliance, and sometimes investigating.
The ACCC describe Franchising as a way of doing business. The two primary roles in franchising, are the franchisor and franchisee.
The ACCC state that the, “franchisor largely controls how the franchisee’s business is run. They control the name, brand, and business system the franchisee is going to use.”
To say the “franchisor largely controls how the franchisee’s business is run”, is to say that the franchisor provides the franchisee with all the tools, knowledge and information they need to run a successful franchise. In many respects this is what the franchisee is looking for – a ready-made and proven business model, processes and manual on how to run a successful business.
Information about Franchising
Here is a link to the Franchising Code of Conduct.
The ACCC also offer a free course to see if franchising is something for you. Here is a link to that course.
The Federal Government website for business also provides information on franchising. For franchisors and a prospective franchisees.
Franchise Council of Australia (FCA)
The FCA is the peak body for the franchising industry, they say:
Our mission is to support and connect the Australian Franchising Community by helping them grow through education and advocacy.
The FCA provides a platform for franchisors, franchisees, business advisors and small to medium businesses to influence government policy.
The FCA also provides a lot of information for franchisors and prospective franchisees.
Their webpage for Franchisees is extensive covering topics from the legal frameworks to becoming a franchisee.
The FCA also conduct surveys across the franchising industry and share their findings. A link to that page, which gives some details about who Australian franchisees are, is here (at the bottom of the webpage).
International Recognition of Franchising in Australia
Australia is known globally as a well-regulated and thriving franchising industry. For example, the USA government recognises franchising in Australia and makes the following statement.
Australia has more franchising outlets per capita than any other country except New Zealand, but close to 90% of franchises are Australian developed. U.S. brands (not individual units) represent between three and five percent of the market.
Australia has over 1,100 franchisors, 65,000 franchise units, and 8,000 company-owned units in Australia. Australian-developed brands dominate the market. The United States is a key international player, followed by the United Kingdom, and more generally Europe.
Conclusions
Lets look at what conclusions we can draw from this information.
- Franchising in Australia is a very mature and healthy business sector.
- The Franchising industry is well regulated ensuring compliance and fairness in the franchisor-franchisee relationship.
- There is a huge amount of (free, accessible) information available for prospective franchisees.
- The franchising industry is well supported a healthy array of organisations, such as the Franchising Council of Australia, consultants and training organisations.
- The franchising industry in Australia is recognised internationally (for example, USA) as a thriving industry.
Franchise opportunities are now available with Mobile Martinis – learn more on our franchising page.
Feature Image by Austin Distel on Unsplash