Fast food and fitness firms are generating a higher number of complaints from franchisees and will be audited, the competition regulator says.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) deputy chair Michael Schaper told a weekend national franchise convention on the Gold Coast it would target industries that generated a disproportionate number of complaints.

“In the ACCC’s next round of audits we will be looking at franchises from the takeaway food and health and fitness industries, however our audits will not be restricted to these two sectors,” he said.

During the last financial year, the ACCC received 740 complaints from people involved in franchising, with more than 100 of them related to misleading conduct and false representations about potential earnings.

“There can be severe financial penalties for franchisors found to be misrepresenting potential franchise earnings,” Mr Schaper said.

The ACCC has the power to demand a business provide documents, under federal competition laws passed in 2010.