Licensees

Licensee News

Carbon tax

August 15, 2011

POAAL has made a submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the proposed carbon tax. POAAL holds concerns regarding the impact of the proposed Carbon Tax on the postal sector – in particular LPOs. The small business owners who operate LPOs are limited in their ability to pass on to customers any increase in operating costs that might arise from the introduction of a carbon tax.

WA motor registration renewals

August 12, 2011

Australia Post has changed the process for WA DPI Motor Registration Renewals so that Licensees can override the printing of multiple privacy statements. POAAL's WA Branch and National Office raised this matter with Australia Post, resulting in savings on consumables and time for Licensees.

Products, marketing and promotion survey

August 10, 2011

POAAL is conducting an online survey to help improve Licensees' businesses. We are seeking Licensees' thoughts about what promotional campaigns work best in helping you increase in-store traffic and increase sales.

POAAL meets with Australia Post Managing Director

August 3, 2011

POAAL today met with Australia Post Managing Director Ahmed Fahour and Executive General Manager Retail Services Christine Corbett to discuss a range of important issues concerning Licensees, Contractors and the Australia Post business.

Australia Post and Rural Bank announce proposed partnership

August 2, 2011

POAAL welcomes today’s announcement of a proposed partnership between Australia Post and Rural Bank to distribute banking services via regional and rural post offices. This new partnership should provide a welcome new business stream for Licensed Post Offices in rural areas.

POAAL appears before NBN Committee

August 1, 2011

POAAL CEO Ian Kerr was invited to attend the most recent hearings of the NBN Joint Parliamentary Committee held in Melbourne. He took the opportunity to push the cause of those 464 LPOs that don't have access to Australia Post's point-of-sale network.

Licensee Resources

POAAL has researched and prepared some simple resources for current and prospective Licensee members. These free resources are just a sample of some of the resources available to financial members of POAAL.

The Franchising Code of Conduct regulates the conduct of franchisees and franchisors. It is a mandatory industry code under the Trade Practices Act.

The Code protects prospective and current franchisees through its disclosure provisions and its dispute resolution procedure.

The ACCC has responsibility of administering the Franchising Code of Conduct and investigating potential breaches. It may also facilitate discussion between franchisees and franchisors to resolve problems, avoiding the potential for matters being escalated to a point where breaches of the Act arise.

Licensed Post Offices are deemed to be franchisees under the Franchising Code of Conduct and as a result Australia Post and Licensees are bound by the Code. The Code provides Licensees with an extra level of protection in addition to the LPO Agreement.

Information onthe Franchising Code of Conduct can be found on the ACCC website.

Franchisee manual

The ACCC has put together a franchisee manual to help franchisees and prospective franchisees to understand their rights and responsibilities under the Franchising Code of Conduct. The manual can be downloaded from the ACCC website.

Disclosure Document

Each year, Australia Post is obliged under the Franchising Code of Conduct to prepare a disclosure document for every Licensed Post Office.

Australia Post must provide a copy of the disclosure document to prospective Licensees at least 14 days before the incoming Licensee takes over the LPO.

Under the terms of the Franchising Code of Conduct, Australia Post is required to provide disclosure documents to existing franchisees (Licensees) within 14 days of request. The disclosure document must be updated annually, within four months of the end of the financial year.

This means that Australia Post must have an up-to-date disclosure document prepared for each LPO by 31 October each year. Licensees should request an up-to-date disclosure document from Australia Post each year. By requesting the disclosure document at the beginning of November Licensees will guarantee that they receive the most recent disclosure document relating to their business.

Some of the information included in the disclosure document includes:

details of the franchisor (Australia Post), including the business experience of Australia Post management
any plans Australia Post may have to establish another outlet nearby
details of any litigation involving Australia Post

Current Licensees should mark it on the calendar – request a disclosure document every year from Australia Post. Note that current Licensees can only request a disclosure document from Australia Post once every 12 months.

POAAL has prepared a pro forma letter that Licensees can use to request a copy of the disclosure document from Australia Post.