Does the cooling-off period for new franchisees apply if I'm just buying an existing location?

This depends on whether your specific resale actually triggers a fresh disclosure obligation, and it's not something to assume either way without review. The Arthur Wishart Act (Franchise Disclosure), 2000 ties a franchisee's rescission rights to the disclosure process — where disclosure is required and never given at all, the franchisee can generally rescind within a longer window measured from signing, and where disclosure is given late or is materially deficient, a shorter rescission window runs from when it's actually received.

Whether buying an existing location counts as receiving a "franchise" for these purposes, and therefore triggers these protections the same way a brand-new franchise grant would, depends on the structure of your specific transaction — whether you're signing a new or amended agreement with the franchisor, and whether any of the Act's narrow, fact-specific resale exemptions apply. This is genuinely transaction-specific, not a blanket yes or no.

Because rescission rights are one of the most significant protections (or exposures, from a seller's perspective) in this area, don't assume your resale is automatically covered or automatically exempt. A Treadstone business lawyer can determine how these rights actually apply to your specific deal.