Partnership Agreement Template for Australian Businesses
Going into business with someone on a handshake is one of the most expensive mistakes you can make in Australia. Without a written partnership agreement, your business is governed by default rules in your state or territory's Partnership Act — rules you didn't choose and probably wouldn't agree to. Those defaults split profits equally no matter who put in the capital or does the work, and they let any partner walk away and dissolve the whole partnership. This template sets your own rules instead: who owns what, how profits are shared, how decisions get made, and what happens when someone wants out.
Do I really need one if there's no company?
Yes — arguably more so. A partnership is the one common Australian business structure with no separate legal shield: there's no company, no limited liability, nothing standing between the business's debts and your personal assets. Partners are jointly and severally liable, which means a creditor can pursue any one of you for 100% of a partnership debt — even a debt another partner ran up without telling you.
If you never sign an agreement, you don't avoid rules — you inherit them. Your relationship falls under the default provisions of the Partnership Act in your jurisdiction (the Partnership Act 1892 in NSW, the Partnership Act 1958 in Victoria, the 1891 Acts in Queensland, SA and Tasmania, and equivalents in WA, the ACT and NT). Those defaults assume profits and losses are shared equally regardless of contribution, that no partner is entitled to a salary, and that the partnership can be dissolved at will by any partner giving notice. A written agreement is how you override the defaults you don't want and keep the ones you do.
What a solid partnership agreement covers
The point of the document is to answer, in advance, the questions that turn into disputes later. A good Australian partnership agreement should nail down: each partner's capital contribution and ownership percentage; how profits, losses and drawings are split (and whether any partner takes a salary before profits are distributed); who can make which decisions, and what needs unanimous versus majority sign-off; how new partners are admitted; and who owns the business's intellectual property and clients.
Just as important is the exit side. The agreement should set out what happens if a partner wants to leave, dies, becomes incapacitated or needs to be removed — how their share is valued and bought out, and any restraint on competing afterwards. Finally, a stepped dispute-resolution clause (good-faith negotiation, then mediation, then arbitration or court) keeps a disagreement from going straight to a costly court fight and gives you a clear path back to working order.
How our generator works
You answer a short series of plain-English questions — the partners' names, contributions and ownership split, how profits are shared, decision-making thresholds, and your exit and dispute-resolution preferences. The AI drafts a complete agreement tailored to those answers, written for an Australian partnership rather than adapted from a generic overseas form, and delivered ready to review and sign.
You get two free AI revisions, so you can tweak the profit-sharing formula, tighten a restraint clause or adjust the buy-out terms without starting over. Because the money and liability stakes in a partnership are real, we recommend having the draft reviewed by a solicitor or accountant before you sign for anything significant — a serious venture, uneven capital contributions, or partners with very different expectations. The template gives you a strong, structured starting point; it doesn't replace advice on the parts that matter most to your situation.
What you get
- Built for Australian state and territory Partnership Acts
- Profit share, contributions and decision-making clauses
- Exit, buy-out and dispute-resolution provisions
- Plain-English, ready to review and sign
- 2 free AI revisions
FAQ
Is this legal advice?
No — this is an AI-generated template for general information only, not legal advice. Because partnerships carry personal liability, we recommend having the draft reviewed by a qualified Australian solicitor or accountant before you rely on it, especially for a significant venture or where partners contribute unequally.
Does one template work across all Australian states?
The core principles of partnership law are consistent nationwide, and the template is written to work with them — but each state and territory has its own Partnership Act with slightly different detail. Tell us your jurisdiction when you generate the document, and have it reviewed locally if you want certainty on state-specific points.
What happens if we just don't sign anything?
Your partnership still exists, but it's governed entirely by the default rules in your state or territory's Partnership Act — equal profit share regardless of who contributed what, no salaries, and dissolution at will by any partner. A written agreement is how you replace those defaults with terms you actually chose.
How much does it cost?
A$29, delivered instantly. That includes a complete, tailored partnership agreement plus 2 free AI revisions so you can refine the profit split, buy-out terms or dispute clauses before signing.