About the Contract for Sale of Business Agreement Australia

Are you selling or buying a small business in Australia?

Our Contract for Sale of Business (also called Business Sale Agreement) Template is your complete, lawyer-drafted solution to make the process smooth, secure, and legally sound. This professionally prepared template is specifically designed for the sale of business assets (not shares), including goodwill, equipment, and stock, and is ideal for retail, hospitality, online, service-based or professional businesses.

This contract covers everything you need to sell or purchase a business as a going concern, ensuring you’re protected with clear terms on purchase price, restraint of trade, employee transfers, lease assignments, and more.

🧾 Key Features:

• Tailored for small business asset sales across Australia

• Includes clauses for GST, finance approval, lease assignment & stock valuation

• Supports buyer or seller use (though often seller-prepared)

• Protects your interests with strong restraint, warranty, and dispute resolution clauses

• Easy to customise with a fillable Schedule (complete in red text)

• Includes cooling off period (where applicable under state law)

• Covers optional trial period and ongoing assistance from seller

🔍 Who it's for:
Small business owners, sole traders, consultants, franchisees, or professional service providers who want to sell their business in whole or part (excluding shares). Whether you're selling a bricks-and-mortar store, café, or online enterprise, this template is built to suit. It is suitable in states all round Australia including New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory.

💡 Why use this template?
Without a proper business sale contract, you risk future disputes, liabilities, and financial loss. This template helps you comply with Australian laws and ensure the deal is documented properly—protecting you from start to finish.

This template:

• can be used by a seller or buyer of a business, but commonly a seller will prepare the contract for sale.

• does NOT include a guarantor for the seller if the seller is a company – if this is required as agreed between the parties, legal advice should be sought and the contract modified by a practising lawyer.

• requires you to complete the items in red text noting it is also advisable to obtain accounting and tax advice from an accountant in relation to the sale of your business.

• is a general template drafted for Australian laws and does not incorporate any specific arrangements, such as where the seller continues to work in the business etc. Where the sale is complex we urge you to obtain legal advice from a practising lawyer, though note this contract can form a good base for you to discuss with them and keep costs down.

Disclaimer

Ready to Boss Legal is a legal publisher. We are not a law firm and you acknowledge that by purchasing, downloading and customising this template, Ready to Boss Legal is not acting as your lawyer or providing you with legal advice. This template is legal information only and should not substitute for or constitute professional legal advice. We recommend you consult with a lawyer for legal advice, noting Ready to Boss Legal is a legal publisher and not a law firm.

All copyright in this document belongs exclusively to Ready to Boss Legal. We grant you a one use non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable license to use this document for the purposes of using it in your business or for personal use. However, this document may not be copied, given to a third party, re-sold, reproduced, transmitted electronically or otherwise used in any way in whole or in part for the purpose of commercial gain by you for any purpose that may amount to competition with Ready to Boss Legal.