Set the rules for affiliates before they start promoting

Website terms usually govern your relationship with customers, not the separate relationship with affiliates who promote your business for commission. Affiliate terms can deal with approval to join the programme, how referrals are tracked, when commission is payable, what conduct is prohibited, and when you can suspend or remove an affiliate. Without those rules in one place, disputes often arise around attribution, unpaid commissions, misleading promotions or use of your brand in ways you did not intend.

The document commonly covers eligibility to participate, sign-up and approval rules, commission structure, payment timing, excluded transactions, promotional restrictions, use of trade marks, disclosure expectations, intellectual property, confidentiality, termination rights and what happens to unpaid or disputed commissions. Some programmes also need clauses about coupon use, paid ads, email marketing, social content or use of approved creative assets. The right mix depends on how tightly you want to control affiliate behaviour and how your tracking and payment model works in practice.

Important details include how affiliates are recruited, whether they are individuals or businesses, how referrals are tracked, what counts as a valid conversion, when commissions vest, and what marketing channels are allowed or banned. It also matters whether affiliates receive access to customer information or analytics. If the programme touches customer data, the legal position depends on how your business handles information in practice, and the right drafting and advice depend on how that information is collected, used and shared across the programme.

A template may be a starting point, but it often leaves gaps around your actual commission logic, approval process, restricted conduct and brand controls. Generic wording can also miss practical issues such as self-referrals, coupon misuse, paid search restrictions, clawbacks after refunds, or the point at which a commission becomes payable. A tailored document is useful where the commercial model is more than basic referral marketing. You get guidance on the main legal risks and practical next steps, while compliance still depends on your circumstances and how the advice is applied.

The fixed-fee covers drafting or reviewing the affiliate terms document and providing legal input on the issues described on this page. It does not include ongoing representation, technical implementation of your affiliate platform, security remediation, or tax advice. If you also need related documents such as website terms, privacy wording or a separate influencer or ambassador agreement, those would usually be handled as additional work. We can flag where those extra documents may be worth considering based on your programme structure.

Submit an enquiry on this page or click 'Get started'. One of our legal consultants will review it within 1 business day and get in touch to understand what you need.

Your consultant will then email you a fixed-fee quote setting out the cost, scope and timing. If you're happy with it, you can accept the quote and sign our engagement letter online.

Once you've accepted, one of our Australian-qualified lawyers will work with you to complete your project. They'll contact you by email or phone if they need anything.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Affiliate Marketing Terms Conditions service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We work online, so we can help wherever you are in New Zealand. Our team works remotely, mainly from Australia.

Your work is done by our Australian-qualified lawyers, who hold Australian practising certificates and specialise in business law. None of them are New Zealand lawyers or hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

Sprintlaw NZ Limited is a legal consultancy, not a law firm, and is not regulated by the New Zealand Law Society. We don't act in court or tribunal matters, conveyancing (including leases and business sales) or other reserved areas of work. Communications with Sprintlaw are unlikely to be protected by legal professional privilege. We still keep everything confidential under our engagement letter.