Checklist · Franchising & Distribution
Franchise cooling-off termination and refund
Checklist of the cooling-off periods and the 14-day refund on the ACCC page about ending a franchise agreement, including the opt-out from 1 November 2025.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Australia, Commonwealth
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the authority it cites, for Australia and Commonwealth.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when a franchisee may terminate a franchise agreement during a cooling-off period, or when a franchisor has received a written termination in that period and must deal with money paid.
Used for these tasks
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
AI may calculate the 14-day dates from the agreement date and from any written termination on the file, and the lawyer decides whether the period is open and what, if anything, may be retained.
AI may
- Enter the date the agreement was entered, the date the new franchisee took possession, and the date of any written termination
- Count 14 days from the date the lawyer nominates and show the working
- List payments to the franchisor and any expenses the agreement says may be retained
AI must not
- Must not draft the termination notice or an opt-out notice
- Must not decide that an expense is reasonable
- Must not decide that the franchisee can opt out
The lawyer checks
- The agreement is one to which this cooling-off rule applies, under the code in force for that agreement
- For a transfer, the earlier of the two dates on the page is used
- Any amount retained is a reasonable expense of the termination and the expense or its method of calculation is in the agreement
- An opt-out is in writing and meets both conditions on the page
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
Read the full text
The full text is available after you log in. It is free. When you log in you can:
- read the whole precedent, with its drafting notes beside it;
- copy it, or download it as a Word file or Markdown;
- add it to your firm’s knowledge base, so colleagues can find it;
- let the AI tools you connect read it from that knowledge base.
The summary, the law it rests on and the AI-use guidance above stay public. Privacy.
More in Franchising & Distribution
- Franchise disclosure document: Schedule 1 build sheet and verification register
- Franchise Disclosure Register profile and annual confirmation
- Pre-entry statements: receipt of the disclosure document and Code, and independent legal, business and accounting advice (Franchising Code ss 26 and 27)
- Franchisor end-of-term notice: extend, new agreement, or neither (Franchising Code s 36)
- Information statement for prospective franchisees (ACCC): when and how to give it
- Post-term restraint map under the Franchising Code
- Significant capital expenditure in a franchise disclosure document
- Does this distribution agreement meet the franchise agreement test
- Franchise lease and other agreement disclosure times
- Prospective franchisee due diligence checklist and letter of advice
- Marketing and other specific purpose fund: annual statement, audit and franchisee vote (Franchising Code ss 31 and 61)
- Franchisor notice of breach and opportunity to remedy (s 55 Franchising Code)
- Materially relevant facts to be told to franchisees
- Responsible franchisor exposure note for a franchisee contravention
- Request for franchisor consent to transfer, and the franchisor’s response within 42 days (Franchising Code ss 24, 48 and 49)
- Compensation for early termination of a franchise
- Notice of dispute under the Franchising Code, with ADR referral and Ombudsman request
- Unfair contract terms review of a standard-form agreement
- Franchise agreement clause: franchisor-mandated AI tools, customer data and AI-generated marketing
- Prompt template with guardrails: compare the disclosure document with the franchise agreement
All precedents for Franchising & Distribution · Tasks and AI use in this area