To date the Small Business Minister of Australia has not unveiled or given an indication of when changes to the Franchising Code of Conduct will be released or implemented.Below is an overview of some interpretations of government spin so far.

Those condemning the proposed reform as weak to the point of producing no effective change to meet the outrage that brought on all three 2008/9 Inquiries expect the final Emerson product to be very different in interpretation one released;

one lot of uncertainty about the future of franchising has been replaced by another, in that the detailed wording of a new Code may potentially contain subtle but significantly different interpretations of the changes previously announced by the Government.Jason Gehrke

In this blog from Jason Gehrke of Franchise Advisory Centre and Griffith University’s Centre for Franchising Excellence he covers;

Expert panel recommendations revealed regarding;

• Unforeseen capital expenditure
• Unilateral contract variation
•  Attribution of legal costs
• Confidentiality agreements
• Changes at franchise resale

And other recommendations relating to;

• Plain English Relationship document for prospective franchisees,
• Additional ACCC education,
• Early State and Federal intervention dispute resolution, and
• Some more research much later

Included is a summary of previously announced Code changes;

• The introduction of ‘penalties’ for unconscionable conduct and false and misleading representations,
• Random audits of franchise systems by the ACCC,
• Name and Shame of rogue franchisors,
• Clarification of end of term arrangements and a six-month mandatory period of notice of renewal,
• All affected franchisees of a group provided for in in ACCC ‘actions’, and
• A vague reference to implied rather than implicit Good Faith in agreements.

The South Australian March 20 election is predicted to be close and the popular driving force behind the alternate South Australia Franchising Bill, Tony Piccolo MP, is first term in a marginal seat.

Should Mr Piccolo lose in this election then Craig Emerson MP, Small Business Minister, will breathe a sigh of relief even though Mr Piccolo is a member of his Party. That would most likely mean only a minimal short-term effective backlash giving Emerson a respite from looking over his shoulder. Four days will be a long wait for Australian franchisees.