This document is a short form version of a general partnership agreement.

This precedent sets out the basic terms and conditions required for a partnership agreement where the partnership consists of many partners, for example, large law and accounting firms.

Using this precedent

Although the precedent sets out the essential terms and conditions practitioners would expect to find in a partnership agreement, it is very important to consider, and include, procedures and issues that relate to the specific arrangements of the partners in question, and the type of business they operate.

For example, if the partnership is a partnership of lawyers, there might be the expectation that any partner has to be a qualified solicitor admitted in the state or territory in which the law firm operates.

Practitioners should:

• be familiar with the relevant state or territory partnership act applicable to the specific partnership, as each state and territory in Australia has a separate partnership act, the contents of which are very similar to each other; and
• understand the relationship between the short and long term strategic objectives of the partners.

For additional clauses or for variations to the clauses in this precedent, see the separate collection of partnership agreement optional clauses, or the separate precedents “partnership agreement – general (long form)” and “partnership agreement – general (long form, extended).”

This document has been authored for LexisNexis by Michael Heraghty, Partner, TressCox Lawyers, Rosemarie Ryan, Barrister and Elise Margow, Principal, Legally Speaking

This document is prepared with the assistance of Specialist Editor Stephen Newman, Executive Counsel, Ponte Earle.