EOFY Legal Health Check
Every June, founders get serious about their finances - chasing invoices, sorting receipts, talking to the accountant. The legal side of the business almost never gets the same treatment. It just quietly carries on, full of handshake deals, out-of-date contracts and IP nobody's confirmed they actually own.
End of financial year is the natural time to fix that. You're already in housekeeping mode. So while you've got the books open, here's the legal version of the same exercise — a once-a-year check of the things that protect your business, with a free checklist you can work through at the end.
Why EOFY is the right time
First, you're already reviewing the business with fresh eyes, so it's less effort to add the legal layer than to do it cold in October. Second, a lot of legal things run on annual cycles - renewals, registrations, insurance, contractor arrangements - and EOFY is a sensible anchor date to check them all at once rather than letting them lapse one by one.
A legal health check isn't about finding disasters. Most of the time it's about catching small gaps before they become expensive - the contractor who never signed an IP assignment, the customer terms that haven't been updated since you changed your pricing, the trade mark you keep meaning to register.
The areas worth checking
Your contracts - Are the agreements you're using now the ones you actually want to be using? Your contracts should change as your business changes. Check that your customer or client agreements reflect what you actually do today, that any handshake arrangements have been put in writing, and that you're not still using a template you found online.
What you own - If you've used contractors (developers, designers, freelancers) the law does not automatically give you ownership of what they made unless your agreement says so. The same goes for your brand: a business name and a domain don't protect it; only a registered trade mark does. EOFY is a good moment to confirm you actually own the things your business is built on. (If trade marks are on your list, our free trade mark guide walks you through exactly how to register one in Australia.)
Your business structure - The structure that suited you as a solo operator may not suit you now. If you've grown, taken on people, or started carrying more risk, it's worth asking whether sole trader, partnership, organisation or company is still the right fit. This is a question for your accountant and a lawyer together so EOFY is when that conversation naturally fits.
Your website and customer terms - Check your terms and conditions, your privacy policy, and any disclaimers. If you're collecting customer data, handling payments, or running anything online, your obligations may have shifted since you last looked.
Your contractors and team - Are the people you call contractors actually contractors in the eyes of the law? Misclassification is one of the most common issues small businesses run into. Check that everyone working with you has a current agreement that matches the reality of how you work together.
Your renewals and expiries - Trade mark renewals, domain renewals, insurance, leases, licences. Make a single list of what expires when, so nothing lapses by accident. A lapsed trade mark or domain is far harder and more expensive to recover than it is to renew.
What to do with what you find
The point of a health check is to turn vague unease into a clear list. Most things you find will be small and easy to fix. A few might need a proper think and conversation. The checklist below walks through each area with specific questions to ask, so you finish with a short, prioritised list of what to action, and what may be worth getting help with.
Get the checklist
Our free end-of-financial-year legal checklist covers every area above in detail, with the specific questions to ask yourself for each one. Work through it in an afternoon and you'll know exactly where your business stands.
Or, if you'd rather have someone look over your contracts with you:
