Sales Referral Agreement Template for New Zealand

A Sales Referral Agreement is a legally binding contract that formalises the relationship between your business and external parties who refer potential customers to you. Under New Zealand law, this agreement creates enforceable obligations regarding referral processes, compensation structures, and performance expectations while ensuring compliance with commercial and consumer protection legislation.

When do you need this document?

You need a Sales Referral Agreement when establishing formal referral partnerships with individuals, businesses, or professional service providers. This includes situations where you're working with independent contractors, marketing agencies, business partners, or sales agents who will refer customers to your business in exchange for compensation. The agreement is essential when you want to protect confidential business information shared with referrers, ensure compliance with anti-money laundering requirements for financial services, or establish clear performance metrics for referral quality. You'll also need this document when your referral program involves handling personal customer data that must comply with the Privacy Act 2020.

Key legal considerations

Your Sales Referral Agreement must clearly define what constitutes a 'qualified referral' to avoid payment disputes and establish measurable criteria for referral success. The compensation structure requires careful drafting to ensure fairness and legal compliance, including payment timing, calculation methods, and any caps or minimum thresholds. You must include robust confidentiality clauses to protect your customer lists, pricing information, and business strategies shared with referrers. The agreement should address territorial restrictions if you want to limit where referrers can operate, though these must be reasonable under New Zealand contract law. Consider including performance standards and termination clauses that protect your business interests while maintaining fair dealing obligations under the Fair Trading Act 1986.

Legal requirements in New Zealand

Under the Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017, your Sales Referral Agreement must contain essential contractual elements including clear offer and acceptance terms, consideration, and mutual obligations. The Fair Trading Act 1986 requires that all representations about your referral program be accurate and not misleading, particularly regarding potential earnings or success rates. If your referrals involve collecting customer personal information, you must comply with Privacy Act 2020 requirements, including obtaining appropriate consents and ensuring secure data handling. For financial services referrals, the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 may impose additional licensing and disclosure obligations. Consumer referrals must acknowledge Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 protections, and certain financial referrals may trigger Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 compliance requirements, including customer due diligence and reporting obligations.