The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accepted the undertaking after raising concerns over the agreements with the company, a unit of Sweden-based Husqvarna Group.

The watchdog told the company the agreements may have contravened the franchising law, the Competition and Consumer Act and the Australian Consumer Law.

“Husqvarna told its dealers that their dealership agreements were not franchising agreements. Husqvarna has acknowledged that this was likely to be misleading and in breach of the Australian Consumer Law,” ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said.

“By claiming that the dealership agreements were not franchising agreements, Husqvarna likely gave dealers the impression that they were not entitled to protections under the Franchising Code.”

Husqvarna, which has more then 340 dealers across the country, also admitted that it likely terminated one or more dealers, breaching both the FCC and CCA.

The undertaking will ensure Husqvarna’s franchisees are protected by the FCC, Keogh said.

“Franchisors should take care not to misrepresent franchisees’ rights and should ensure their franchise agreements are compliant with the Franchising Code of Conduct,” he said.

Husqvarna also acknowledged that its dealership agreements were likely to contain unfair contract terms that were void and unenforceable, the ACCC said.

In cooperation with the Commission, Husqvarna has rewritten its dealership agreements and has undertaken not to enforce any terms the ACCC considered likely to be unfair.

In March, the ACCC said it would focus more on protecting franchisees from unfair business practices.

The same month, the Senate voted to launch a joint parliamentary enquiry into franchises, examining the code of conduct and how the industry handles complaints and disputes. A report on the enquiry is expected on December 6 this year.

Lawyerly has reached out to Husqvarna for further comment.