Six joints, six ways of working together
A joiner picks a joint for the load it has to carry. Working relationships between businesses are much the same. In a general partnership, each partner has unlimited liability for the partnership’s debts. A joint venture is set up for a specific purpose or project rather than as an ongoing business. A franchisee runs on someone else’s branding, trade marks, suppliers and business systems.
Each guide below takes one of those joints and sets out the rules that hold it, read from business.gov.au, the Australian Taxation Office, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the legislation itself.
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01
Through dovetail
The partnership agreement
The nine things business.gov.au says to settle in writing, and the two clauses tax law reaches into.
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02
Half lap
How a partnership is taxed
Who lodges what, why a partner’s “salary” is really a share of profit, and a worked profit split over three years.
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03
Loose tenon
Joint ventures
One project, two businesses: how the ATO tells a joint venture from a partnership, and what the agreement covers.
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04
Butt joint, unglued
Working beside a competitor
The four kinds of cartel conduct, concerted practices, and what the ACCC says stays on the right side of the line.
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05
Finger joint
Bargaining as a group
The ACCC’s class exemption for small business collective bargaining, in the order its conditions apply.
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06
Mortise and tenon
Franchising in plain words
The Franchising Code’s timeline, from the first expression of interest to the end of the cooling-off period.
Four arrangements, side by side
A short comparison, read from the official pages. Each guide goes further.
| Arrangement | Who is in it | What holds it together | Where the rules are |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partnership | 2 or more people who manage the business and split any income or losses. | A partnership agreement, if the partners write one. It isn’t required, and without a written agreement the ATO says income and losses are shared equally. | Each state and territory has its own partnership laws. |
| Joint venture | 2 or more people, companies or organisations working together for a specific purpose or project. | A joint venture agreement, which business.gov.au describes as legally binding. | Mostly the agreement itself. For GST, the ATO’s ruling GSTR 2004/2 sets out what counts as a joint venture. |
| Franchise | A franchisor, and a franchisee who pays a fee to sell the franchisor’s products or services. | A franchise agreement, which is legally binding. | The Franchising Code of Conduct, the Australian Consumer Law, the Fair Work Act and contract law, as business.gov.au lists them. |
| Bargaining group | 2 or more competitors negotiating together with a supplier or customer. | An exemption from competition law, such as the ACCC’s class exemption for small business. | Competition law, enforced by the ACCC. |
The line under all of them
Working together is ordinary business. Agreeing not to compete is not. In the ACCC’s description, a cartel is formed when businesses that should be rivals agree to cooperate rather than compete, and size is no defence: it can be a handful of local small businesses or a group of large corporations. If the business you plan to work with also competes with you, read the guide to working beside a competitor before anything is agreed.