Licensees

Licensee News

Sydney Business Seminar

October 26, 2012

Workplace relations, risk management and finance options were some of the major topics discussed at POAAL's Business Seminar in Sydney in October.

Competition and Consumer Act booklet

September 28, 2012

The ACCC has revised one of its publications for small businesses, Small business and the CCA: your rights and responsibilities. The Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) governs how all businesses in Australia must deal with their competitors, suppliers and customers.

Meeting with Senator Ryan

September 1, 2012

POAAL recently met with Senator Scott Ryan, the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Small Business. One of the main points discussed was the continuing growth of e-commerce and the effect this is having on the LPO network.

Australia Post Chairman to step down

August 30, 2012

Australia Post's Chairman, David Mortimer, will step down from the Australia Post Board when his term expires on 11 September 2012. In the interim period, Mr Mark Darras, Deputy Chairman of the Board, will serve as Acting Chairman.

National Small Business Summit

August 6, 2012

The Minister for Small Business, Brendan O'Connor, is positive about the prospects for small business in Australia. "We must not fall into the trap of talking ourselves down," the Minister said as part of his keynote address at the National Small Business Summit in Melbourne last week.

Peterborough meeting

June 29, 2012

POAAL's Dennis Jenner hosted a meeting for Licensees at Peterborough in SA in June. Licensees from the surrounding region met for a LiPOMS session and discussions on a range of topics relevant to the postal sector and small business.

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.