3Interpretation

#### 3 Interpretation (1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears: > agreement means any agreement, arrangement or understanding: (a) whether formal or informal or partly formal and partly informal; (b) whether written or oral or partly written and partly oral; and (c) whether or not having legal or equitable force and whether or not based on legal or equitable rights. > business day, in relation to entering into a franchise agreement, means a day other than: (a) a Saturday or a Sunday; or (b) a day that is a public holiday in the place where the person proposing to be the franchisee resides. > child, in relation to a person, includes an adopted child, a step‑child or an ex‑nuptial child of that person. > commencement, in relation to an agreement, means the day on which the agreement comes into effect. > contravention, in relation to a provision of this Act or any other law, includes a failure to comply with that provision. > corporation means: (a) a body corporate that is a foreign corporation; (b) a body corporate that is a trading corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth; (c) a body corporate that is incorporated in an internal Territory; or (d) a body corporate that is related to a body corporate of a kind referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c). > director, in relation to a body corporate, includes any person occupying or acting in the position of director of the body corporate, by whatever name called and whether or not validly appointed to occupy or duly authorized to act in the position. > foreign corporation means a foreign corporation within the meaning of paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution, and includes a body corporate that is incorporated in an external Territory. > franchise agreement means an agreement (other than an agreement between bodies corporate that are related to each other) containing: (a) provisions, whether express or implied, under or by virtue of which a corporation (in this Act referred to as the franchisor) authorizes, permits or requires a person, being another party to the agreement (in this Act referred to as the franchisee), to use, in connection with the retail sale of motor fuel by that person at the premises to which the agreement relates, a mark identifying, commonly associated with, or controlled by, that corporation or a related corporation; (b) provisions, whether express or implied, under or by virtue of which a corporation (in this Act referred to as the franchisor) grants a right to, or otherwise authorizes or permits, a person, being another party to the agreement (in this Act referred to as the franchisee), to possess, occupy or use the premises to which the agreement relates in connection with the retail sale of motor fuel by that person at those premises; or (c) provisions, whether express or implied, under or by virtue of which: (i) a corporation (in this Act referred to as the franchisor) is accustomed, entitled or required to supply motor fuel to a person, being another party to the agreement (in this Act referred to as the franchisee), for retail sale by that person at the premises to which the agreement relates; or (ii) a person (in this Act referred to as the franchisee) agrees with a corporation (in this Act referred to as the franchisor) to acquire motor fuel from another person (whether a party to the agreement or not) for retail sale by the first‑mentioned person at the premises to which the agreement relates. > franchisee means a party to a franchise agreement, being the person referred to as the franchisee in paragraph (a) or (b) or subparagraph (c)(i) or (ii), as the case may be, of the definition of franchise agreement. > franchisor means a party to a franchise agreement, being the corporation referred to as the franchisor in paragraph (a) or (b) or subparagraph (c)(i) or (ii), as the case may be, of the definition of franchise agreement. > interim franchise agreement means a franchise agreement to which subsection 13(3) applies that is entered into for a term not exceeding one year. > lease includes a sub‑lease. > mark includes a symbol, design, colour, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter or numeral, or any combination of the foregoing. > marketing premises means premises to which a franchise agreement relates, being the premises referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) or subparagraph (c)(i) or (ii), as the case may be, of the definition of franchise agreement. > motor fuel means any fuel to be used in propelling road vehicles, other than diesel fuel or liquefied gas. > officer, in relation to a body corporate, includes: (a) a director or secretary of the body corporate; (b) a receiver and manager of the whole or any part of the property of the body corporate appointed under a power contained in any instrument; or (c) a liquidator of the body corporate appointed in a voluntary winding up. > parent, in relation to a person, means a person of whom that person is a child. > prescribed person, in relation to the supply of motor fuel that is, or is to be, sold at particular marketing premises, means: (a) the franchisor; (b) a corporation related to the franchisor; or (c) the person (not being the franchisee or franchisor) referred to in subparagraph (c)(ii) of the definition of franchise agreement. > provision, in relation to an agreement, means any matter forming part of the agreement, and includes a covenant. > road vehicle means a vehicle designed solely or principally for transporting persons, goods or animals by road. > share, in relation to a body corporate, means a share in the capital of the body corporate, and includes stock. > supply tank, in relation to a road vehicle, means that part of the vehicle in which motor fuel for the propulsion of the vehicle is stored. > trading corporation means a trading corporation within the meaning of paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution. (2) Except so far as the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to an agreement shall be read as including a reference to a proposed agreement, an agreement as requested or proposed to be renewed, or a terminated or expired agreement and, in relation to such an agreement, a reference in this Act to a party to the agreement shall be read as a reference to a person who would be a party to the agreement if the agreement were in effect. (3) Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act, except in sections 6 and 15, to the time when an agreement is entered into shall, in the case of an agreement that does not commence on the day on which it is entered into, be read as a reference to the day on which it commences. (4) For the purposes of this Act, where, at the expiration of a franchise agreement, the franchisee and the franchisor or, in circumstances described in subsection 17B(2), another franchisor, enter into a new franchise agreement concerning the same subject matter, the new agreement shall be taken to be a renewal of the earlier agreement notwithstanding that the provisions of the new agreement may differ from those of the earlier agreement. (4A) In this Act, except so far as the contrary intention appears, a reference to renewal shall be read as including a reference to further renewal. (5) A reference in this Act, except in subsection 19(3), to retail sale by a person shall not be read as including retail sale by that person as servant or agent of another person. (6) A reference in this Act to a member of the immediate family of a franchisee shall be read as a reference to the spouse, or a parent, child, brother, sister, half‑brother or half‑sister, of the franchisee. (7) A reference in this Act to a company controlled by a franchisee shall be read as a reference to a company controlled by all or any of the following: (a) the franchisee; (b) the members of the immediate family of the franchisee. (8) Where a franchise agreement is one of 2 or more franchise agreements described in paragraph 6(1)(b), those agreements shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be related to each other. (9) In this Act: (a) a reference to an agreement shall be read as including a reference to a lease of, or a licence in respect of, premises, and shall be so read notwithstanding the express references in this Act to such leases or licences; (b) a reference to making or entering into an agreement, in relation to such a lease or licence, shall be read as a reference to granting or taking the lease or licence; and (c) a reference to a party to an agreement, in relation to such a lease or licence, shall be read as including a reference to any person bound by, or entitled to the benefit of, any provision contained in the lease or licence. (10) The express references in this Act to entering into an agreement by way of renewal shall not be taken to imply that other references to entering into an agreement do not include references to entering into an agreement by way of renewal. (11) A reference in a provision of this Act to a court shall be read as a reference to a court that, by virtue of section 26, has jurisdiction in matters arising under that provision. (12) For the purposes of this Act, motor fuel shall not be taken to be sold by retail at marketing premises unless it is delivered at those premises into the supply tanks of road vehicles by a metered pump, and references to the retail sale of motor fuel shall be construed accordingly. (13) Unless the contrary intention appears, references in this Act to the term of an agreement do not include references to any period of extension of the agreement by holding over or otherwise.