Terms and Conditions

ELIGIBILITY

This Platform is not intended for unsupervised use by any person under the age of 18 years old or any person who has previously been suspended or prohibited from using the Platform. By using the Platform, you represent and warrant that you are either:

• over the age of 18 years and accessing the Platform for personal use; or
• accessing the Platform on behalf of someone under the age of 18 years old and consent to that person’s use of the Platform.

Please do not access the Platform if you are under the age of 18 years old and do not have your parent or guardian’s consent, or if you have previously been suspended or prohibited from using the Platform.

If you use the Platform on behalf of a company or organisation you warrant that you have the necessary authority from that company or organisation to do so. If you are signing up not as an individual but on behalf of your company, your employer, an organisation, government or other legal entity (Represented Entity), then “you” or “User” means the Represented Entity and you are binding the Represented Entity to this agreement. If you are accepting this agreement and using our Services on behalf of a Represented Entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorised to do so.

USER OBLIGATIONS

As a User, you agree:

• not to intimidate, harass, impersonate, stalk, threaten, bully or endanger any other User or distribute unsolicited commercial content, junk mail, spam, bulk content or harassment;
• to not use the Platform for any purpose other than for the purpose of making arrangements to provide or receive services, including by not using the Platform:
• in a manner that is illegal or fraudulent or facilitates illegal or fraudulent activity (including requesting or accepting a job which includes illegal activities or purposes); and
• in connection with any commercial or money making or other promotional or marketing endeavours except those that are endorsed herein, or as approved in writing by OMA;
• not to act in any way that may harm the reputation of OMA or associated or interested parties or do anything at all contrary to the interests of OMA or the Platform;
• not to make any automated use of the Platform and you must not copy, reproduce, translate, adapt, vary or modify the Platform without the express written consent of OMA;
• that OMA may change any features of the Platform or Services offered through the Platform at any time without notice to you;
• that information given to you through the Platform, by OMA or another User including a Service Provider, is general in nature and we take no responsibility for anything caused by any actions you take in reliance on that information; and
• that OMA may cancel your account at any time if it considers, in its absolute discretion, that you are in breach or are likely to breach this clause 2.

POSTED MATERIALS

WARRANTIES

By providing any information, materials or other content on or through the Platform (Posted Material), you represent and warrant that:

• you are authorised to provide the Posted Material (including by being authorised to provide any services that you represent you provide);
• the Posted Material is accurate and true at the time it is provided;
• any Posted Material which is in the form of a review or feedback is honest, accurate and presents a fair view of the relevant person and/or your experience;
• the Posted Material is free from any harmful, discriminatory, defamatory or maliciously false implications and does not contain any offensive or explicit material;
• the Posted Material is not “passing off” of any product or service and does not constitute unfair competition;
• the Posted Material does not infringe any Intellectual Property Rights, including copyright, trademarks, business names, patents, confidential information or any other similar proprietary rights, whether registered or unregistered, anywhere in the world;
• the Posted Material does not contain any viruses or other harmful code, or otherwise compromise the security or integrity of the Platform or any network or system; and
• the Posted Material does not breach or infringe any applicable laws.

LICENCE

You grant to OMA a perpetual, irrevocable, transferable, worldwide and royalty-free licence (including the right to sublicense) to use, copy, modify, reproduce and adapt any Intellectual Property Rights in any Posted Material in order for OMA to use, exploit or otherwise enjoy the benefit of such Posted Material.

If it is determined that you retain moral rights (including rights of attribution or integrity) in any Posted Material, you forever release OMA from any and all claims that you could assert against OMA by virtue of any such moral rights.

You indemnify OMA against all damages, losses, costs and expenses incurred by OMA arising out of any third party claim that your Posted Material infringes any third party’s Intellectual Property Rights.

REMOVAL

OMA acts as a passive conduit for the online distribution of Posted Material and has no obligation to screen Posted Material in advance of it being posted. However, OMA may, in its absolute discretion, review and remove any Posted Material (including reviews you have posted on the Platform) at any time without giving any explanation or justification for removing the Posted Material.

You agree that you are responsible for keeping and maintaining records of Posted Material.

REFUNDS, SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS AND CANCELLATIONS

To the maximum extent permitted by law, OMA will have no liability or obligation to you if:

• a Customer or Service Provider cancels at any time after the time for performance of the Services is agreed; or
• for whatever reason, including technical faults, the Services cannot be performed or completed,

and you will not be entitled to any compensation from OMA.

ONLINE PAYMENT PARTNER

We use a third-party online payment partner, currently Stripe (Online Payment Partner) to collect payments on the Platform, including for our Services.

The processing of payments by the Online Payment Partner will be, in addition to this agreement, subject to the terms, conditions and privacy policies of the Online Payment Partner. You can find these here.

You agree to release OMA and its employees and agents in respect of all liability for loss, damage or injury which may be suffered by any person arising from any act or omission of the Online Payment Partner, including any issue with security or performance of the Online Payment Partner’s platform or any error or mistake in processing your payment.

We reserve the right to correct, or to instruct our Online Payment Partner to correct, any errors or mistakes in collecting your payment.

SERVICE LIMITATIONS

While we make every effort to ensure that the functionality of the Platform and any information supplied through the Platform is as up-to-date and accurate as possible, you acknowledge and agree that from time to time, you may encounter the following issues:

• the Platform may have errors or defects (or both, as the case may be);
• the Platform may not be accessible at times;
• messages sent through the Platform may not be delivered promptly, or delivered at all;
• information you receive or supply through the Platform may not be secure or confidential; and
• any information provided through the Platform may not be accurate or true.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

OMA retains ownership of all materials developed or provided (or both, as the case may be) in connection with the Services (including text, graphics, logos, design, icons, images, sound and video recordings, pricing, downloads and software) (Service Content) and reserves all rights in any Intellectual Property Rights owned or licensed by it not expressly granted to you.

You may only make a temporary electronic copy of all or part of the Service Content with prior written consent from OMA for the sole purpose of viewing it. You must not reproduce, transmit, adapt, distribute, sell, modify or publish the Service Content without prior written consent from OMA or as permitted by law.

In this clause 7, “Intellectual Property Rights” means all copyright, trade mark, design, patent, semiconductor and circuit layout rights, trade, business, merchandise, company and domain names, confidential and other proprietary rights, and any other rights to registration of such rights whether created before or after the date of this agreement both in Australia and throughout the world.

THIRD PARTY CONTENT

The Platform may contain text, images, data and other content provided by a third party and displayed on the Platform (Third Party Content). OMA accepts no responsibility for Third Party Content and makes no representation, warranty or guarantee about the quality, suitability, accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of Third Party Content.

THIRD PARTY TERMS

We may use a number of third party service providers and affiliates to power the Platform, (Third Party Providers).

Any service that requires OMA to acquire goods and services supplied by a third party on behalf of the Customer (including a third party payment service) may be subject to the terms and conditions of that third party (Third Party Terms).

Users agree to familiarise themselves with any Third Party Terms applicable to any such goods and services and, by instructing OMA to acquire the goods or services on the User’s behalf, the User will be taken to have agreed to such Third Party Terms, provided we have used reasonable endeavours to draw your attention to the relevant Third Party Terms prior to your use of the relevant Third Party Providers’ services.

Users agree that to the maximum extent permitted by law, OMA will not be liable for the security or performance of such Third Party Providers or any losses the Users might suffer in connection with Third Party Terms or the Services supplied by Third Party Providers.

DISPUTES BETWEEN USERS

You should direct any complaint relating to another User to that User. Users must take all reasonable steps to resolve any dispute with another User with that User.

If any issue or problem relating to the Platform remains unresolved after directing a complaint to a relevant User, or if the complaint does not relate to another User, you must report it to OMA via [email protected]. We will assess the complaint and attempt to quickly and satisfactorily resolve it.

Any costs you incur in relation to a complaint or dispute will be your responsibility.

OMA has the option to appoint an independent mediator or arbitrator if needed. The cost of any mediator or arbitrator must be shared equally between each of the parties to the dispute.

OMA reserves the right to hold funds in relation to a dispute until the dispute is resolved by the relevant parties or by a mediator or arbitrator.

If you have a dispute with OMA, you agree to notify us first and enter into discussion, mediation or arbitration with us for a minimum of a 120-day period before pursuing any other proceedings.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this clause 10, you or OMA may at any time cancel your Account or discontinue your use of the Platform.

SECURITY

OMA does not accept responsibility for loss or damage to computer systems, mobile phones or other electronic devices arising in connection with your use of the Platform. You should take your own precautions to ensure that the process you employ to access the Platform does not expose you to the risk of viruses, malicious computer code or other forms of interference.

DISCLAIMER

(Introduction service)

OMA is a medium that facilitates the introduction of Customers and Service Providers for the purposes of connecting customers with qualified trade professionals for advice on their home building, repair and renovation needs. OMA simply collects a service fee in consideration for providing this introduction service and does not have any obligations or liabilities to, and is not a party to any contract between, Customers and Service Providers in relation to such services or otherwise resulting from the introduction.

(Limitation of Liability)

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the total liability of each party (being you, the User and us, OMA) in respect of loss or damage sustained by the other party in connection with this agreement is limited to the amount paid by you on the Platform in the 3 months preceding the date of the event giving rise to the relevant liability.

(Disclaimer)

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, all express or implied representations and warranties not expressly stated in this agreement are excluded.

(Consumer Law)

Nothing in this agreement is intended to limit the operation of the Australian Consumer Law contained in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (ACL). Under the ACL, you may be entitled to certain remedies (like a refund, replacement or repair) if there is a failure with the goods or services provided.

(Consequential Loss)

To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither party will be liable for any incidental, special or consequential loss or damages, or damages for loss of data, business or business opportunity, goodwill, anticipated savings, profits or revenue in connection with this agreement or any goods or services provided by OMA, except:

• in relation to a party’s liability for fraud, personal injury, death or loss or damage to tangible property; or
• to the extent this liability cannot be excluded under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

CONFIDENTIALITY

You agree that:

• no information owned by OMA, including system operations, documents, marketing strategies, staff information and client information, may be disclosed or made available to any third parties; and
• all communications involving the details of other users on this Platform and of the Service Provider are confidential, and must be kept as such by you and must not be distributed nor disclosed to any third party.

PRIVACY

You agree to be bound by the clauses outlined in OMA’s Privacy Policy, which can be accessed here www.oldmatesadvice.co/privacy-policy.

TERMINATION

Either OMA or the User may terminate the User’s account at any time for any reason.

If a User wants to terminate their account, they can do so by using the Platform’s functionality where available. Where such functionality is not available, OMA will effect such termination within a reasonable time after receiving written notice from the User.

In the event that a User’s Account is terminated:

• the User’s access to all tools on the Platform will be revoked;
• the User will be unable to view the details of all other Users (including contact details, geographic details, any other personal details or requests);
• pursuant to clause 7, the User warrants that they will delete any electronic copies of Service Content that they have recorded with OMA’s prior written permission.

Notwithstanding termination or expiry of your Account, this agreement, or any other membership you hold in connection with the Platform, the provisions of Part A and any other provision in this agreement which by its nature would reasonably be expected to be complied with after termination or expiry, will continue to apply.

TAX

You are responsible for the collection and remission of all taxes associated with the services you provide or receive or any transactions through your use of the Platform, and OMA will not be held accountable in relation to any transactions between Customers and Service Providers where tax related misconduct has occurred.

RECORD / AUDIT

To the extent permitted by law, OMA reserves the right to keep all records of any and all transactions and communications made through this Platform between you and other Users (including conversations, comments, feedback, cookies, and I.P. address information) for administration purposes and also holds the right to produce these records in the event of any legal dispute involving OMA.

NOTICES

A notice or other communication to a party under this agreement must be:

• in writing and in English; and
• delivered via email to the other party, to the email address specified in this agreement, or if no email address is specified in this agreement, then the email address most regularly used by the parties to correspond regarding the subject matter of this agreement as at the date of this agreement (Email Address). The parties may update their Email Address by notice to the other party.

Unless the party sending the notice knows or reasonably ought to suspect that an email was not delivered to the other party’s Email Address, notice will be taken to be given:

• 24 hours after the email was sent, unless that falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in the state or territory whose laws govern this agreement, in which case the notice will be taken to be given on the next occurring business day in that state or territory; or
• when replied to by the other party, whichever is earlier.

GENERAL

GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

This agreement is governed by the law applying in Victoria, Australia. Each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria, Australia and courts of appeal from them in respect of any proceedings arising out of or in connection with this agreement. Each party irrevocably waives any objection to the venue of any legal process on the basis that the process has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

WAIVER

No party to this agreement may rely on the words or conduct of any other party as a waiver of any right unless the waiver is in writing and signed by the party granting the waiver.

SEVERANCE

Any term of this agreement which is wholly or partially void or unenforceable is severed to the extent that it is void or unenforceable. The validity and enforceability of the remainder of this agreement is not limited or otherwise affected.

JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY

An obligation or a liability assumed by, or a right conferred on, two or more persons binds or benefits them jointly and severally.

ASSIGNMENT

A party cannot assign, novate or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations under this agreement without the prior written consent of the other party.

COSTS

Except as otherwise provided in this agreement, each party must pay its own costs and expenses in connection with negotiating, preparing, executing and performing this agreement.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This agreement embodies the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes any prior negotiation, conduct, arrangement, understanding or agreement, express or implied, in relation to the subject matter of this agreement.

INTERPRETATION

• (singular and plural) words in the singular includes the plural (and vice versa);
• (gender) words indicating a gender includes the corresponding words of any other gender;
• (defined terms) if a word or phrase is given a defined meaning, any other part of speech or grammatical form of that word or phrase has a corresponding meaning;
• (person) a reference to “person” or “you” includes an individual, the estate of an individual, a corporation, an authority, an association, consortium or joint venture (whether incorporated or unincorporated), a partnership, a trust and any other entity;
• (party) a reference to a party includes that party’s executors, administrators, successors and permitted assigns, including persons taking by way of novation and, in the case of a trustee, includes any substituted or additional trustee;
• (this agreement) a reference to a party, clause, paragraph, schedule, exhibit, attachment or annexure is a reference to a party, clause, paragraph, schedule, exhibit, attachment or annexure to or of this agreement, and a reference to this agreement includes all schedules, exhibits, attachments and annexures to it;
• (document) a reference to a document (including this agreement) is to that document as varied, novated, ratified or replaced from time to time;
• (headings) headings and words in bold type are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation;
• (includes) the word “includes” and similar words in any form is not a word of limitation; and
• (adverse interpretation) no provision of this agreement will be interpreted adversely to a party because that party was responsible for the preparation of this agreement or that provision.