Influencer Management Contracts In Australia

Yes - if you represent influencers, creators or online talent, you should have a written influencer management contract before you start pitching them to brands.

The slightly more nuanced part is that a good contract doesn't just say your commission percentage. It should clearly explain when you're the exclusive manager, what deals you can negotiate, when commission is payable, who controls approval of content, how payments move, and what happens if the relationship ends.

This doesn't have to be complicated. A clear influencer agreement can make the commercial side of the relationship feel calm and predictable, so you can focus on building the creator's profile and winning better brand deals.

What Is An Influencer Management Contract?

An influencer management contract is the agreement between your agency or management business and the creator you represent.

In Australia, you might also hear this called a talent management agreement, creator management agreement or influencer agency contract. The name matters less than what the agreement actually says.

For a talent manager, the contract usually covers:

• what services you'll provide, such as pitching, negotiation, diary management, brand strategy and campaign support
• whether you're the creator's exclusive manager
• how your commission is calculated and when it's payable
• who can approve or reject brand opportunities
• how invoices, brand payments and remittances will work
• what happens with conflicts between brands
• who owns or can use the content created for campaigns
• how either party can end the relationship

For example, say Maya runs a small creator agency in Melbourne and manages a fitness influencer called Zoe. A sportswear brand approaches Maya with a six-month campaign that includes Instagram Reels, TikToks, paid usage rights and category exclusivity. Without a written agreement, Maya and Zoe may disagree about whether Maya can negotiate exclusivity, whether commission applies to the paid usage fee, and whether Maya still earns commission if the brand renews after Zoe leaves the agency.

A clear agreement deals with those issues early, before a promising brand deal becomes a messy conversation.

Do You Need Exclusivity With Your Influencer?

It depends, but if you're investing serious time in a creator's growth, exclusivity is often worth considering.

Exclusivity means the creator agrees not to appoint another manager, agency or representative for the same kinds of work during the term. This can protect your effort, especially if you're doing unpaid pitching, strategy and relationship building before the first commission comes in.

Your contract should be specific about the type of exclusivity you're asking for. For example, it could cover:

• all brand partnerships, where every sponsorship, ambassador deal and paid collaboration must go through you
• certain platforms, such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, podcasts or newsletters
• certain territories, such as Australia and New Zealand only
• certain categories, such as beauty, fitness, fashion or food
• certain income streams, such as brand deals, appearances, licensing, affiliate campaigns or merchandise collaborations

A broad exclusivity clause may sound attractive, but it can create friction if it captures things the creator never expected. For example, if your agreement says you're exclusive for all commercial work worldwide, the creator may later argue that their speaking gigs, acting work or product business shouldn't be included.

Watch The Unfair Contract Terms Rules

If you're using a standard form contract with a creator who is operating as a small business, Australia's unfair contract terms regime may apply under the Australian Consumer Law or the ASIC Act.

Since 9 November 2023, unfair contract terms can attract penalties, not just be declared void. The small business threshold generally captures businesses with fewer than 100 employees or annual turnover under $10 million.

This means overly one-sided clauses can cause problems, especially if the creator had little real opportunity to negotiate. A clause that locks a creator in for years, lets you change commission whenever you like, or prevents them from earning income outside your agency could be challenged if it's unfair in context.

Exclusivity can still be reasonable. The safer approach is to treat it like any exclusivity agreement and keep it clear, balanced and commercially connected to the services you're actually providing.

How Should Commission Terms Work For Influencer Managers?

Your commission terms should say exactly what you earn, what you earn it on, and when that right starts and ends.

Most influencer managers charge a percentage of the creator's earnings from covered deals. Common commercial arrangements vary, so your percentage will depend on your services, the creator's profile, how much work you do and any state-based rules that may apply to talent or entertainment representatives.

Your agreement should avoid vague wording like "commission on all income" unless that's genuinely what both sides intend. Instead, define the commission base. For example, commission could apply to:

• cash fees paid by a brand
• licensing or usage fees for content
• affiliate commissions linked to a campaign you negotiated
• appearance fees, hosting fees or speaking fees
• renewal fees, extension fees and additional deliverables
• non-cash benefits, if both sides agree how they will be valued

You should also be clear about deductions. Is commission calculated on the gross brand fee, or after platform fees, production expenses, agent fees, payment processing fees or GST? There isn't one answer that suits every agency, but unclear drafting is where disputes usually begin.

Commission Tails After Termination

A commission tail in a commission agreement is a clause that lets you keep earning commission after the management relationship ends, usually for deals you introduced, negotiated or materially developed during the term.

This is one of the most important clauses in an influencer management contract. Without it, you may do months of work to build a brand relationship, only for the creator to finalise or renew the deal after leaving your agency.

A fair commission tail usually deals with:

• which brands or opportunities are covered
• how long the tail lasts
• whether it applies to renewals, extensions and follow-on campaigns
• whether your commission reduces over time
• whether the brand must have been introduced or substantially negotiated by you

For example, your contract might say you earn commission on campaigns signed within 6 months after termination if you introduced the brand during the term. Another agency might use a 3 month tail for smaller creators and a 12 month tail for long-term ambassador negotiations. The right period depends on your business model and the kind of deals you manage.

Try to avoid a tail that captures every future deal with every brand forever. It's likely to feel unfair and may be hard to enforce in practice.

Who Approves Brand Deals And Content?

The creator should usually have final approval over deals that affect their image, content, audience and reputation, unless they've clearly authorised you to commit them.

As the manager, you may want enough authority to move quickly with brands. That's understandable. But if the agreement doesn't explain your authority, you can end up in an awkward spot where a brand thinks a deal is confirmed and the creator says they never approved it.

Your contract should cover approval rights for:

• brand identity and campaign category
• fees, payment timing and commission
• deliverables, such as posts, stories, Reels, TikToks, livestreams or event attendance
• content scripts, talking points and key messages
• usage rights, paid amplification, whitelisting and boosting
• exclusivity restrictions that stop the creator working with competitors
• morality, reputational or controversial product issues
• final campaign contracts with brands

A practical approach is to set out what you can negotiate without separate approval in the creator management agreement, and what needs written sign-off. For example, you might be able to pitch the creator and negotiate commercial terms, but the creator must approve the final brand, deliverables, fee and contract before anything is binding.

If you want authority to sign documents for a creator, get tailored advice. Signing on someone else's behalf can raise agency law issues, and you don't want a brand contract to be challenged because authority was unclear.

How Should Payments Flow Between Brands, Managers And Creators?

Your agreement should set out the payment pathway clearly, because payment confusion is one of the fastest ways to damage trust.

There are a few common models.

Brand Pays The Creator Directly

The creator invoices the brand, receives the full fee and then pays your commission.

This can feel simple, but it relies on the creator paying you on time. Your contract should say when your invoice is due and what happens if the creator is paid late or doesn't disclose payment.

Brand Pays Your Agency

Your agency invoices the brand, receives the campaign fee, deducts commission and remits the balance to the creator.

This gives you more control over commission collection, but your contract should be very clear that you can receive money on the creator's behalf. It should also say when you'll pay the creator after funds clear, such as within 5 business days. If any state-based entertainment industry rules apply to handling client money, those should be checked before you use this model.

Brand Pays Both Parties Separately

The brand pays your commission to you and the creator fee to the creator.

This can reduce cashflow risk, but some brands prefer one invoice. If you use this structure, make sure the brand agreement matches the creator management agreement.

You should also deal with cancellations, postponed campaigns and non-payment. For example:

• does commission apply if the creator completed the work but the brand hasn't paid yet?
• does your agency help chase unpaid brand invoices?
• what happens if the brand cancels after content has been created?
• who bears production costs if a campaign is cancelled?
• are late payment fees or debt recovery costs passed on?

For GST, income tax and accounting treatment, speak with your accountant. From a contract perspective, the key is making sure invoices, payment timing and deductions are clearly documented in the management agreement.

What Happens With Brand Conflicts And Morality Issues?

Your contract should explain how conflicts are handled before you're halfway through negotiating competing campaigns.

Brand conflicts are common in creator management. A skincare creator might be approached by two beauty brands in the same month. A finance creator might have an existing bank sponsor and then receive an offer from a competing fintech. A food creator might love one delivery app but be pitched by another.

Your agreement can manage this by setting out:

• which brands, categories or products are off-limits
• whether the creator must tell you about existing brand relationships
• whether you can reject a deal because it conflicts with another agency client
• how category exclusivity in brand contracts will be approved
• whether the creator can accept gifted products without telling you
• how affiliate links and discount codes are treated

You should also think about morality and reputational issues. Brands often include clauses allowing them to cancel a campaign if the creator does something that damages the brand. Your management agreement should also let you step away if continuing to represent the creator would harm your agency's reputation, breach law, or conflict with your obligations to other clients.

At the same time, avoid giving yourself a completely unlimited right to terminate or withhold money. Keep the clause connected to clear conduct, legal risk or genuine commercial harm.

Advertising And Disclosure Rules

Influencer campaigns are also shaped by the Australian Consumer Law, which prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct. The ACCC has been active in calling out hidden advertising and fake or unclear endorsements.

In practice, brand deals should be clearly disclosed where there's a commercial relationship, such as payment, gifts, free products, affiliate arrangements or other benefits. Your agreement can require the creator to follow applicable advertising codes, platform rules and brand disclosure instructions, such as using clear labels like "ad" or platform paid partnership tools where appropriate.

This protects your agency as well as the creator. If a campaign looks misleading, the brand, the creator and the agency may all be drawn into the issue.

Who Owns The Content Deliverables?

Usually, the creator owns copyright in the content they create unless they assign it or the arrangement says otherwise, but the brand deal will often grant usage rights to the brand.

Under the Copyright Act 1968, copyright can protect photos, videos, scripts, written captions, music and other original creative material. Ownership depends on how the content was created and what contracts are in place. For most independent creators, the starting point is that they own the copyright in their own content.

Your influencer management contract should line up with the brand contract. Otherwise, you might promise a brand rights that the creator hasn't agreed to give.

Key content issues include:

• ownership: does the creator keep ownership, or is anything assigned?
• usage licence: what can the brand use, where and for how long?
• paid media: can the brand boost, whitelist, dark post or run the content as ads?
• territory: is the use limited to Australia or worldwide?
• duration: is usage for 30 days, 6 months, 12 months or longer?
• editing: can the brand crop, adapt, subtitle or edit the content?
• moral rights: will the creator be credited, and can edits affect their reputation?
• portfolio use: can your agency use campaign content in pitch decks, case studies or social media?

Usage rights often carry real value. A one-off organic Instagram Reel is very different from a campaign where the brand can use the creator's face in paid ads for 12 months across Meta, TikTok, YouTube and retail screens.

If your commission applies to usage fees, paid media fees or content licensing fees, say so clearly. If it doesn't, say that too.

What Other Clauses Should Your Creator Management Agreement Include?

Your agreement should include the practical clauses that keep the working relationship clear from day one.

Alongside exclusivity, commission and content rights, consider including:

• term and renewal: how long the relationship lasts and whether it renews automatically
• termination: how much notice either side must give, and whether immediate termination is allowed for serious breach
• services: what your agency will and won't do
• creator obligations: deadlines, professionalism, content quality, availability and communication
• confidentiality: protection for rates, brand contacts, campaign briefs and strategy
• data and privacy: how you handle personal information, performance data and media kits
• warranties: promises that content is original, lawful and doesn't infringe someone else's rights
• indemnities: who is responsible if a party breaches the contract or causes a third party claim
• brand contracts: whether the creator must comply with campaign agreements you negotiate
• dispute process: a simple escalation process before the relationship falls apart

If you collect personal information from creators, brand contacts, audience analytics or mailing lists, you may also need to think about the Privacy Act 1988. Many private sector businesses must comply once annual turnover is over $3 million, and some smaller businesses are covered because of the type of information they handle or the services they provide. If you're unsure, it's worth checking early.

Templates can be a useful starting point, but influencer management has a lot of moving parts. A template that works for a modelling agency may miss paid usage rights, affiliate commissions, whitelisting, TikTok deliverables or creator-owned channels.

Key Takeaways

• An influencer management contract should do more than list your commission percentage. It should cover exclusivity, approvals, payments, conflicts, content rights and termination.
• Commission terms should be clear about what income is covered, whether commission is calculated on gross or net amounts, and whether a commission tail applies after termination.
• Creators should usually approve key brand deals and content obligations unless they've clearly authorised you to act on their behalf.
• Brand conflicts, category exclusivity and morality issues are easier to manage when your agreement sets expectations early.
• Copyright and usage rights need careful wording, especially where brands want paid media, whitelisting, edits or long-term usage.
• Standard form agreements should be checked against Australia's unfair contract terms rules, especially when you manage sole traders or small creator businesses.

If you'd like help with your influencer management contracts, commission terms, brand deal approvals or content usage clauses, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.