Software Development Agreement Template (Australia)

For Australian businesses commissioning or delivering custom software

$59.00 +GST

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Use this template to:
  • Set out scope, requirements, deliverables, milestones and acceptance criteria;
  • Confirm ownership of project IP and each party’s background IP;
  • Define governance, change-control and acceptance-testing processes for the build;
  • Address confidentiality, privacy, security, warranties, liability, insurance and termination.

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Software Development Agreement document with sections for parties and contract details.

About this Document

Use this template if you:
  • Are commissioning custom software development as a Customer, or providing development services as a Supplier, in Australia
  • Need to record scope, requirements, deliverables, milestones, acceptance testing and payment terms in one agreement
  • Want to confirm ownership of project intellectual property and the licensing of each party’s background IP
  • Need clear governance and change-control processes for managing the build and any variations
  • Want to address confidentiality, privacy, security, warranties, liability, insurance and termination up front
It is suited to:
  • Australian businesses commissioning custom-built software, platforms or applications
  • Software developers, development agencies and IT consultancies delivering custom builds
  • Projects that use third-party or open-source components and need documented approval rules
  • Either side of a development engagement, structured as a general business-to-business starting point
What this template covers:
  • Appointment of the Supplier and the standard for performing the development services
  • Governance, project management, reporting, escalation and record keeping
  • Customer responsibilities, dependencies and schedule or cost relief
  • Development standards, secure development, repositories and change control
  • Delivery, acceptance testing, defect correction and acceptance criteria
  • Fees, invoicing, payment and GST arrangements
  • Intellectual property assignment, background IP licences, moral rights and open-source components
  • Confidentiality, privacy, data handling, warranties, indemnities, liability caps, insurance, termination and transition
You receive an editable Word document with placeholders for the parties, governing law, requirements, deliverables, milestones, fees and technology details, plus four Schedules you can tailor to the engagement. It is a practical, lawyer-drafted starting point; complex, high-risk or unusual arrangements may still warrant tailored legal advice.

How To Use This Template

This template is a starting point, not a final document. It’s been drafted by Australian lawyers to be practical and flexible, but it still needs to be reviewed and tailored for your specific business, transaction and risk profile.

Before you use it, you should:

  • Complete all placeholders, bracketed items and optional fields;
  • Remove any drafting notes or clauses that aren’t relevant to your situation; and
  • Check that party names, entity details, dates, addresses, contact details and defined terms are accurate.

Make sure the template is consistent with your other documents and obligations – including any existing contracts, policies, procedures, website terms, privacy disclosures, regulatory requirements or internal governance documents. If anything conflicts, it should be resolved before you sign, issue, adopt or implement the document.

If you are using the template as an agreement, it should be reviewed and signed by all relevant parties in accordance with applicable law and your internal signing requirements. If you are using it as a policy, procedure, notice or compliance record, it should be approved and stored under your organisation’s normal document control processes.

This template is provided as general information only and is not legal advice. Complex, high‑value, highly regulated or cross‑border matters will usually require bespoke drafting. For anything outside a straightforward use case, we strongly recommend obtaining legal advice before relying on, signing or implementing this document.

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