---
title: "Marketing and other specific purpose fund: annual statement, audit and franchisee vote (Franchising Code ss 31 and 61)"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/precedents/franchising-and-distribution/specific-purpose-fund-annual-statement-and-audit"
type: "precedent"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "a34-specific-purpose-fund-annual-statement-and-audit"
area_id: "A34"
kind: "checklist"
ai_level: "yellow"
version: 1
task_ids: ["A34-T1-R12", "A34-B7-5"]
law_stated_as_at: "2026-10-18"
---

# Marketing and other specific purpose fund: annual statement, audit and franchisee vote (Franchising Code ss 31 and 61)

> Year-end pack for a marketing, technology or other specific purpose fund: the statement format the Code requires, the 4-month and 30-day deadlines, the audit or the 75% franchisee opt-out vote, the separate account and…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/precedents/franchising-and-distribution/specific-purpose-fund-annual-statement-and-audit  
Law stated as at: 2026-10-18

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

Year-end pack for a marketing, technology or other specific purpose fund: the statement format the Code requires, the 4-month and 30-day deadlines, the audit or the 75% franchisee opt-out vote, the separate account and spending limits, and a covering letter to franchisees.

## Key facts

- Kind: Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Practice area: [Franchising & Distribution](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/franchising-and-distribution.md)
- Jurisdictions: Australia
- AI level: Yellow. AI can help in set ways. A lawyer checks specific points before use.
- Law stated as at: 2026-10-18
- Status: Maintained. Checked on 2026-10-18 against the 4 authorities it cites, for Australia.

## When to use it

Use at each financial year end by a franchisor or fund administrator, and by a franchisee lawyer testing a fund statement or the use of fund money. It covers any fund franchisees must pay into for a common purpose, not only marketing funds.

## Used for these tasks

- [Review marketing-fund statements against the disclosure and the franchise rules](https://ailawframework.com/practice/franchising-and-distribution.md#A34-T1-R12)
- [Draft a marketing-fund report review](https://ailawframework.com/practice/franchising-and-distribution.md#A34-B7-5)

## How AI may be used

AI may map the fund ledger to the statement headings and compute the percentages; the fund administrator’s accountant prepares the statement, a registered company auditor audits it, and the lawyer checks the uses of fund money against s 61 and the disclosure document.

**AI may:**

- Classify ledger entries into income sources and expense items under the headings in Part B, and flag entries with no clear purpose
- Calculate the percentage of total income spent on fund expenses and on administration and audit costs
- Compare the expense categories against the kinds disclosed in the disclosure document and list any not disclosed

**AI must not:**

- Must not prepare or sign the financial statement or the audit report; those are for the fund administrator’s accountant and a registered company auditor
- Must not decide whether an expense is a legitimate expense for the fund’s specified purpose
- Must not record a franchisee vote as passed without the vote records showing 75% of contributing franchisees in Australia agreed within 3 months

**The lawyer checks:**

- The statement details all receipts and expenses with enough detail to show sources of income and items of expenditure, and gives the two percentages s 31(3)(b) requires
- The statement was prepared, and audited (unless a valid 75% vote dispensed with the audit), within 4 months after year end
- Copies of the statement and the auditor’s report go to every franchisee within 30 days of preparing or receiving them
- Every use of fund money falls within s 61(4), the separate account is in place and corporate units contributed on the same basis

## Authorities

- [Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Franchising) Regulations 2024 (Cth) s 31 (financial statements for specific purpose funds: content, preparation and audit within 4 months, copies within 30 days, 75% vote to dispense with audit)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01605/latest/text)
- [Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Franchising) Regulations 2024 (Cth) s 61 (payments to and from specific purpose funds: corporate units contribute, separate account, permitted uses)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01605/latest/text)
- [ACCC, Specific purpose funds for franchise businesses (guidance on the new code rules from 1 November 2025)](https://www.accc.gov.au/business/industry-codes/franchising-code-of-conduct/specific-purpose-funds-for-franchise-businesses)
- [Competition and Consumer (Industry Codes—Franchising) Regulations 2024 (Cth) s 37 (keeping documents given to franchisees for at least 6 years)](https://www.legislation.gov.au/F2024L01605/latest/text)

## Full text and drafting notes

The full text and the drafting notes are not part of this public page. Signed-in firm accounts can read them at https://ailawframework.com/precedents/franchising-and-distribution/specific-purpose-fund-annual-statement-and-audit and through the signed-in MCP connector https://ailawframework.com/mcp/firm.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*