Non compete agreement drafting for NZ businesses

The point is usually to protect a legitimate business interest when someone leaves or changes roles. That might include confidential know-how, client relationships, pricing information, supplier contacts or strategic plans. A non compete clause is not just about stopping competition in the abstract. If the wording goes further than the real risk, it may be harder to rely on. A properly prepared agreement helps define what is being protected and how, which is why the relationship and factual context matter as much as the clause label.

Most non compete agreements deal with the restricted activities, the period of restraint, the area covered, and the business interest said to justify the restriction. They may also include non-solicitation wording for clients, staff or suppliers, plus confidentiality obligations and return of business property or information. The exact mix depends on whether the agreement is for an employee, contractor, shareholder or business partner. In many cases, the restraint wording needs to sit consistently with another document such as an employment agreement, contractor agreement or sale document.

The key factors are the person's role, the sensitivity of the information they access, the closeness of their customer relationships and the practical market they operate in. A senior salesperson with direct client control raises different issues from a junior contractor with limited access. The drafting also depends on whether the restraint is standalone or part of a broader commercial arrangement. Because enforceability often turns on reasonableness, the right approach depends on the working arrangement, documents and the factual context rather than a one-size-fits-all form.

Often not. Templates tend to use broad restraint wording without enough connection to the actual business interest being protected.

That can create two problems at once: the clause may be too aggressive to be useful, or too generic to deal with the real risk. For example, a template may ignore whether the person had access to confidential pricing, whether they dealt directly with key customers, or whether a narrower non-solicitation clause would be more appropriate. Tailored drafting lets the agreement reflect the real relationship instead of relying on generic restraint language.

That depends on how quickly the key details are available and whether the agreement needs to fit with other documents already in place. We will usually need to know who the agreement is for, what role they hold, what business interests are being protected and whether there are existing employment, contractor or shareholder documents to align with. Once those points are clear, we can draft the agreement and flag any wording issues that may need a commercial decision from you before the document is settled.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Non Compete Agreement 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 operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.