Credit Application Form (Australia)

A Personal Guarantee is one of the most consequential financial documents an individual can sign in an Australian commercial context. It transforms what might otherwise be a purely corporate obligation into a direct, personal liability enforceable against the guarantor's own assets — including their home, savings, and other property. This Australian Personal Guarantee template is designed for use by company directors, business owners, and other individuals who are required to personally guarantee the obligations of a company or other entity to a creditor, supplier, landlord, or lender. In Australia, personal guarantees are routinely required across a broad range of commercial arrangements. Banks and non-bank lenders almost universally require company directors to personally guarantee business loans extended to their companies. Commercial landlords frequently require director guarantees for corporate tenants. Suppliers extending trade credit to new or small businesses commonly require a personal guarantee before opening a credit account. The template addresses all of these scenarios. The document is structured to comply with Australian law requirements. Under the legislation continuing the Statute of Frauds in each Australian state and territory — including section 54A of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW), section 126 of the Instruments Act 1958 (Vic), and equivalent provisions in other jurisdictions — a guarantee must be in writing and signed by the guarantor to be enforceable. An oral or informal guarantee is void and unenforceable regardless of the parties' clear intentions. The template includes a full indemnity clause alongside the guarantee. While a guarantee is a secondary obligation (coextensive with the company's liability and potentially defeated if the underlying agreement is void), an indemnity is a primary and independent obligation that survives even if the underlying contract is found to be defective or unenforceable. Combining both gives the beneficiary the maximum available protection and is standard in Australian commercial practice. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL), contained in Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), may affect personal guarantees where the guarantor is a small business. Since October 2024, the unfair contract terms regime in the ACL applies to small business contracts, including guarantee documents, where certain threshold criteria are met. The template includes an optional ACL acknowledgment clause to address this in a transparent and balanced way. The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is relevant where the guarantor is a director of the company. Directors owe duties under the Act including the duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the corporation and for a proper purpose (section 181), and the duty to avoid conflicts of interest. Where a director provides a personal guarantee in their capacity as director, those duties are relevant context. The template includes an optional director capacity clause to acknowledge this statutory framework. Australian courts have a well-developed equitable jurisdiction to set aside personal guarantees obtained by unconscionable conduct, undue influence, or non-disclosure. Guarantees signed by family members of the principal debtor — particularly spouses — are most vulnerable to challenge. For this reason, Australian creditors typically insist that guarantors obtain independent legal advice from a solicitor before signing, and the template includes a clause confirming that this opportunity was provided. The template allows the guarantor's liability to be capped at a maximum dollar amount, creating a limited guarantee, or left uncapped for an unlimited guarantee. This is an important commercial decision: an unlimited guarantee exposes the guarantor to the full extent of the company's obligations, including future obligations that may not yet be quantifiable at the time of signing.

Create an Australian Guarantee and Indemnity for commercial lending, leasing, or supplier arrangements. Covers guarantor liability, indemnity clause, continuing guarantee, limited vs unlimited liability, discharge conditions, subrogation rights, and independent legal advice confirmation. Compliant with Australian contract law and statute of frauds requirements.

An Invoice Dispute Letter is a formal written communication sent by a business or individual to a supplier disputing all or part of a commercial invoice. In Australia, the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and general contract law provide significant protections for businesses and individuals who receive invoices that are incorrect, excessive, or not supported by the underlying transaction. This Australian Invoice Dispute Letter template enables you to formally dispute an invoice in a legally effective way, setting out the grounds for the dispute, identifying the amounts in contention, and specifying the resolution you are seeking from the supplier. Invoice disputes are common in Australian commerce and arise in a wide variety of circumstances. A business may receive an invoice for goods or services that were never delivered. An invoice may charge for quantities in excess of those ordered under a purchase order. A supplier may apply incorrect pricing, fail to account for a previously agreed credit note or discount, issue a duplicate invoice for amounts already paid, or incorrectly calculate or apply Goods and Services Tax (GST) under the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 (Cth). In each case, the business receiving the invoice has clear legal rights to dispute it and withhold payment of the disputed amount pending resolution. Under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)), sections 18 and 29 prohibit misleading and deceptive conduct and false representations in trade or commerce in connection with the supply of goods or services. Where a supplier issues an invoice claiming payment for goods or services that were not supplied, or at a price that was not agreed, or in amounts that are incorrect, this may constitute misleading conduct in breach of the ACL. The ACL also contains provisions in Part 3-2 protecting consumers and small businesses against goods that do not meet consumer guarantees of acceptable quality and fitness for purpose (sections 54-55), which may be relevant where the dispute relates to defective goods or services that do not conform to specification. Under general contract law, a party is only obliged to pay for goods or services that were actually supplied and that conform to the contract. Where an invoice claims amounts not supported by an underlying agreement, purchase order, or delivery record, the recipient is entitled to withhold payment of those amounts and to require the supplier to correct or withdraw the invoice. A bona fide invoice dispute, raised in good faith with reasonable grounds, is a complete defence to any claim of late payment interest for the period during which the dispute is being resolved. This template also addresses the common issue of late payment interest. Australian trade credit contracts often include a clause entitling the supplier to charge interest on overdue invoices at a specified rate. However, where an invoice is genuinely disputed, the legal position is that interest does not run on the disputed amount while the dispute is unresolved. The template includes an optional clause formally objecting to any late payment interest claimed on the disputed amount. The letter complies with Australian legal best practices by setting out the dispute in writing (creating an evidentiary record), identifying the specific legal grounds for the dispute, reserving the disputing party's rights under the ACL and at general law, and requesting a specific resolution within a defined timeframe. Sending a formal dispute letter by email (with read receipt) or by registered post creates a clear paper trail that may be important if the dispute escalates to a formal complaint with a consumer tribunal, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, or court proceedings.

Create a comprehensive Australian Commercial Lease Agreement covering permitted use, rent and GST, CPI and market rent reviews, outgoings, bank guarantee, make good obligations, assignment conditions, insurance requirements, and option to renew. Compliant with state-specific Retail Leases Acts (NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA) and the GST Act 1999.