Home > How to franchise a business > Franchise Regulations Australia > Retail Leasing
Retail Leasing Legislation
There is no Federal regulation of the relationship between landlords and tenants in retail and commercial premises in Australia. Such regulation exists at state level, and differs for each state.
The relevant legislation for each state is as follows:
Retail Shops and Fair Trading Legislation Amendment Act 2006
In 2007, the Federal Productivity Commission considered the market for retail leases in Australia and it its final report, dated March 31, 2008, made eight key recommendations, which are summarised as follows:
- State and Territory governments should encourage transparency of lease agreements through the use of plan English documentation, the provision of contact details for parties involved in lease negotiation, lease registration and dispute resolution; and the provision of a one-page summary of all key lease terms to be included in documentation
- State and Territory governments should require one page lease summaries to be publicly accessible
- Develop a national reference lease with a set of items (and terminology) to be included in all retail tenancy leases and landlord disclosure statements, as well as introduce nationally consistent reporting on tenancy enquiries, complaints and dispute resolution
- The alignment of unconscionable conduct provisions (as applying to retail tenancies) between State and Territory governments with the Commonwealth
- The introduction of a national voluntary code of conduct for shopping centre leases enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
- The removal by State and Territory governments of restrictions in retail leasing that provide no operational benefit compared with general commercial tenancies
- A progressive modification of State and Territory legislation toward nationally consistent model legislation
- A relaxation of planning and zoning controls that limit competition and restrict retail space and its utilisation
These recommendations are yet to be adopted. The Productivity Commission’s report, The Market for Retail Tenancy Leases in Australia, is available for free online.
Other franchise regulations
)
