Snapshot of Australian Franchisee Survey participating businesses

Responses from 1,007 franchisees representing 83 Australian franchise systems.

The survey sample indicated that 69% of Australian franchised businesses were operated by men and 29% by women.

Whilst the majority of respondents (57%) were born in Australia, more than 40% were born overseas with India the second most common place of birth at 15%, followed by China 7% and the UK at 3%.

A high level of education across franchise owners was evident with 18% holding a tertiary degree and a further 27% holding a Post Graduate Qualification. 52% of respondents indicated High School (22%) or Diploma/Certificate (30%) as their highest level of education.

The vast majority (73%) of franchise units were owned by single operators. A further 20% of respondents indicated the operation of 2-3 units and 7% indicated the operation of 4 or more units for their franchise system.

The survey reflected that 33% of respondents had commenced their business in the last five years (2017-2021). A further 30% commenced their business between 2012 and 2016 and 37% had now been operating their business for more than ten years.

Responses indicate that franchises are typically operated by mature age owners with 76% of respondents aged 40 years or older.

Franchised businesses are a significant employer in the Australian economy. The employment of more than 2 people was indicated by 81% of respondents. Single operators accounted for 19% of respondents. Almost half of all respondents (48%) indicated their business employed 2-10 people with a further 34% reporting their franchised businesses employed more than 10 people.

The majority of franchised businesses (76%) were based in capital cities. Franchised businesses also have a significant regional footprint with 24% of respondents indicating their businesses were based outside of state and territory capitals.

There is a significant variance in average weekly sales across franchise units, attributable to the type of industry, business structure and the scale of the individual business.

Higher turnover levels were evidenced from respondents working in food-based businesses which accounted for 80% of the businesses reporting turnover of more than $10,000 per week.

For franchises with sales of less than $10,000 per week, 91% were involved in non-food businesses which in many cases were operated by mobile businesses without rental and wages overheads.