This document is a partnership agreement for a partnership at will, and is designed for use for by a small partnership.

Partnerships at will

Where no fixed term has been agreed between the parties, this is a partnership at will. This means that any partner may terminate the partnership at any time by giving notice to the other partners.

Using this precedent

This precedent has been designed for small scale businesses and sets out the basic practical terms, conditions and processes of a partnership at will arrangement. It is necessary to customise the agreement taking into account the requirements of the specific partnership arrangement.

This precedent can also be used as a memorandum of understanding where complex negotiations are ongoing in relation to partnership arrangements but the parties wish to proceed with the partnership business while the negotiations are taking place. In those circumstances, this agreement would be used as an interim measure to govern the relationship between the parties until they finalise negotiations.

When using this precedent, practitioners should:

·            be familiar with the relevant state or territory Partnership Act that is 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.