Consulting and Retainer Agreement

Betweenand

1.
The parties and the engagement
This agreement is made between ________, ABN ________ (we, us, our) and ________ (you, your). You engage us on the basis of ________, starting on ________ for an initial term of ________ months. At the end of the initia
2.
Scope and deliverables
The engagement covers the following: ________ You will receive: ________ Anything outside this scope is not part of the fee. We give advice and recommendations based on the information you give us and on our profession
3.
What we need from you
You agree to give us timely access to the people, data, systems and approvals we reasonably need, to give us accurate and complete information, and to nominate one person who can make decisions and sign things off. Our
4.
Fees, expenses and invoicing
The fee is ________ for each period, which includes up to ________ hours of our time per month. Unused hours do not roll over into the next period, because we hold that capacity for you. We invoice in advance for each p
5.
Extra work and changes
If the work goes beyond the included hours or the agreed scope, we will tell you before we keep going and we will not start until you agree in writing. Additional time is charged at ________ per hour, in fifteen minute i

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Consulting and Retainer Agreement

$89 one-off, GST included

For consultants and agencies who sell advice, retainers and projects. It fixes the monthly fee, the hours included, the rate for anything on top, and how the engagement ends. Built for the 2023 unfair contract terms rules, so a client's lawyer cannot pull it apart.

$89 when checkout opens. Join the availability list.

Use it when

You bill a monthly retainer and the work keeps growing while the fee stays flat
You are starting a project engagement and want the deliverables written down
A client pays late and you have nothing about interest or pausing work
You want a retainer that renews cleanly instead of drifting month to month

Not for

Paying someone to do work for you, that is the contractor agreement.

What it covers

1.
The parties and the engagement
Names both sides, sets the start date and the term, and rolls the retainer on instead of letting it lapse.
2.
Scope and deliverables
Writes down what the client gets and draws the line where advice ends and their decision starts.
3.
What we need from you
A retainer month you could not use because the client went quiet is still a month you spent.
4.
Fees, expenses and invoicing
Bills in advance, caps the hours you owe, and stops expenses becoming an argument after the fact.
5.
Extra work and changes
The client approves extra work before you do it, so scope creep turns into revenue instead of resentment.

Show all 14 clauses

6.
Late payment
Interest plus a right to stop work is the only pressure that reliably moves a slow paying client.
7.
Confidentiality and conflicts
Protects both sides, and says plainly that you keep other clients so nobody assumes an exclusivity you never sold.
8.
Who owns what
The client owns the report, you keep the method you will use on the next twenty clients.
9.
We are an independent business
Keeps you a supplier rather than a disguised employee, which protects both sides at tax time.
10.
Consumer guarantees and liability
Caps your exposure at the fees you earned, without pretending the guarantees can be switched off.
11.
Ending or pausing the engagement
Both sides walk on the same notice, and a pause option keeps a client who is having a quiet quarter.
12.
If we disagree
Talk, then mediation, then court, because a consulting dispute is almost never worth litigation.
13.
Governing law
Puts any dispute in your own state under your own state's law.
14.
The whole agreement
Your signed agreement beats the pitch deck, which is where most consulting arguments start.

You will be asked for

Your business name, Your ABN, Your state or territory, Client name, How the engagement runs, What the engagement covers, What the client actually receives, Start date, Initial term in months, Fee for each period, Hours included each month, Hourly rate beyond the included hours, Expenses you can incur without asking, Payment terms in days, Late payment interest, percent a year, Notice to end the agreement, in days, Can the client pause the retainer. Takes about five minutes.

Written for: Consultant or agency, Service business. Version 1, updated 2026-09-18. You get PDF and Word, and any update to this document for 12 months.

Legitkit provides document templates and general information, not legal advice. Legitkit is not a law firm and does not employ lawyers. Documents are written for the general run of Australian small businesses and may not suit your situation. For advice on your situation, see a lawyer.

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