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Travelling is exhilarating, but it’s always helpful to know where you’re going. Many people struggle with navigating unfamiliar streets, finding the best food spots or knowing which areas to avoid. This is where tour guides come in – they play a crucial role in helping tourists make the most of their trips and stay safe.
If you’re street-smart and know a particular area like the back of your hand, you might be considering starting a tour guide business. After all, who wouldn’t love a job where you get to meet new people and showcase your favourite places?
While starting a tour guide business is an exciting venture, it’s essential to plan and prepare thoroughly. There are several legal considerations to address before you can dive into the fun part. But don’t worry – we’re here to help with all the technical bits
How Do I Start A Tour Guide Business In Australia?
To start a tour guide business in Australia, it’s important to properly plan your business. Consider creating a business plan. A business plan doesn’t have to be complicated – even if it’s just for your own use, a business plan helps you organise your thoughts, ideas, and plans in one place. A business plan typically covers:
- Long terms and short term goals
- Service/product information
- Competitor information
- Branding ideas
- Legal considerations
- Financial plans
- Marketing idea
- Industry/market analysis
A good business plan is able to adapt to market changes and adjust to anything that might impact your tour guide business, such as new information. So, while making plans and being prepared is always good, make sure you’re not being too rigid about it either.
Register Your Tour Guide Business: Sole Trader Or A Company?
It’s time to register your tour guide business. So, which business structure do you choose for registration? In Australia, sole traders and companies are common business structures. However, partnerships are also popularly registered.
The business structure you register your tour guide business as will depend heavily on your personal circumstances, the goals and vision you have for your business. A sole trader and partnership business have a fairly easy set up process. You simply need to:
- Attain an Australian Business Number (ABN) which can be done through a quick online process. All partners will need to have their their own ABN as they cannot be shared
- Register a business name (only if your using a name that different to your personal name or the names of the partners)
- Partners may want to take the additional step of securing the terms of their partnership in a Partnership Agreement
Despite the relatively quick and easy set up process, it’s important to keep in mind that sole trader and partnership businesses provide very little legal protection. Sole trader and partnership business don’t have limited liability, as the business will be attached to you personally. This means, whatever happens with your tour guide business can impact you personally as well.
If you’re looking for greater legal protection, then consider registering your tour guide business as a company. A company is a legal entity on its own, allowing it to exist independently from you. Companies can own property, sell property, earn a profit, incur debt – they essentially have a lot of the same legal rights as a person. As such, you will enjoy limited liability when it comes to your tour guide company, lessening the amount of personal risk you have.
Company registration can get a bit complex, it’s better to have a legal expert help out with this. To set up a company, some of the things you need to do include:
- Registering it it with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
- Deciding on your company shareholders and directors
- Determining how your company will be governed
- Picking out the right legal structure for your company
- Following the rules and regulations set out by the Corporations Act 2001
A legal expert’s guidance when setting up your tour guide company can help you better navigate the corporate landscape, ensuring your tour guide company gets set up correctly.
How Do I Start A Private Tour Guide Business?
Private tour guide businesses are usually popular for their personalised tours and smaller, more intimate group numbers. General tour guide businesses are typically open to all members of the public and have a set route. If you’re thinking of starting a private tour guide business, then your registration process will be the same as a general tour guide business.
Whether you’re offering a private tour guide service or a general, public tour guide service, it’s important to clearly state exactly what services your tour guide business provides prior to taking on clients. This helps avoid misunderstandings and conflicts – we’ll talk more about the best way to do this below.
What Legal Documents Do I Need To Start A Tour Guide Business?
Legal documents help ensure clear communication, set boundaries, protect rights, secure your revenue streams and much more. As a tour guide business, it’s important to have personalised, well-drafted legal documents that help maintain smooth business operations. We’ve listed a few legal agreements you might want to consider getting below.
Service Agreement
A service agreement is a contract between you and your clients. Your service agreement will state exactly what services your tour guide business offers (great for clarifying whether you’re running a public or private tour guide business). Service agreements also address other important matters such as payment, liabilities, contract termination – this way, both parties can be on the same wavelength.
Waiver
There are some risks when running a tour guide business – you can’t control everything that happens on your tours. To eliminate the risk of external factors or someone else’s behaviour putting your tour guide business in danger, it’s a good idea to have clients sign a waiver. A waiver is good for limiting your liabilities and stating exactly what you can and cannot be held responsible for – this is especially important if your tour includes activities with risks, such as bungee jumping.
Privacy Policy
Plan on having a website for your tour guide business? Then you might need to have a privacy policy on it to comply with Australian privacy regulations. A privacy policy is required if your tour guide business collects any kind of personal information from its users such as:
- Name
- Phone number
- Home address
- Payment details
Even if your website isn’t legally required to have a privacy policy on it, it’s a good idea to consider getting one for transparency and building trust with your clients.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) help legally protect sensitive information. NDAs are useful to have on hand in case there’s confidential information you don’t want disclosed. For instance, if your tour guide business decides to partner with a local restaurant, you might need to show them some internal company documents to secure the deal. NDAs ensure that any shared information remains confidential and is not disclosed improperly.
Does My Tour Guide Business Need To Follow Any Laws?
Yes, as a tour guide business you will need to be well aware of the rules and regulations that impact your operations. Local regulation and state laws might determine whether you need any permits or licences to run your tour guide business – do you due diligence or get in touch with a legal expert that can help out. As a tour guide business, it’s also necessary to be well versed in local regulations, so you can set the right standard for your clients.
Other laws you may need to look out for as a tour guide business include: Australian Consumer Law (ACL), Data and Privacy Law, Intellectual Property (IP) Law and Employment Law. The specific regulations that apply to your tour guide business will depend highly on your unique business – no two businesses are the same and neither are the exact rules that apply to it. As such, it’s a good idea to chat with a legal expert so they can provide the right legal compliance guidance.
Key Takeaways
Starting your own tour guide business is an exciting step however, it’s important to ensure your business is properly registered, secured by legal agreements and following the relevant laws. To summarise what we’ve discussed:
- Starting a tour guide business involves thorough planning, consider creating a business plan
- Choose a business structure (sole trader, partnership, or company) based on your personal circumstances and legal protection needs, then register your tour guide business accordingly
- Private tour guide businesses offer personalised tours and intimate group sizes; registration is similar to general tour guide businesses
- Essential legal documents include service agreements, waivers, privacy policies, and NDAs
- Ensure compliance with relevant laws, such as local regulations, Australian Consumer Law, Data Privacy Law, and Employment Law
If you would like a consultation on starting a tour guide business, you can reach us at 1800 730 617 or team@sprintlaw.com.au for a free, no-obligations chat.
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