1. Introduction and Acceptance
Welcome to Aus Property News. This website (the "Site") is owned and operated by Aus Property News ("we", "us", "our").
By accessing or using the Site — whether as a casual visitor, a registered user, or by automated means — you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions ("Terms"), our Privacy Policy and our Disclaimer. All content on the Site is currently free to access. If we introduce paid products, services or events in the future, additional terms specific to those products may apply. If you don't accept any part of these Terms, please don't use the Site.
In these Terms, "you" and "your" refer to the person or organisation accessing the Site.
2. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. The current version will always be posted on the Site with the "last updated" date shown above. Your continued use of the Site after we post changes means you accept the updated Terms. If you don't agree with a change, please stop using the Site.
3. Limited Licence to Use the Site
The Site and all content available on it — including text, graphics, design, logos, photographs, video, audio, data, software and other material (collectively, the "Materials") — is owned by us, our licensors or our affiliates, and is protected by Australian and international copyright, trademark and other intellectual property laws.
We grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Site and the Materials for your own personal, non-commercial use, on the conditions set out in these Terms. You may also download or print a single copy of individual pages for personal, non-commercial reference, provided you keep all copyright and proprietary notices intact.
Except as expressly permitted by these Terms or by the rights-holder, you must not:
- copy, reproduce, republish, modify, translate, sell, licence, distribute, transmit, publicly display or perform any of the Materials, in any medium;
- create derivative works from the Materials;
- use the Materials for any commercial purpose;
- frame or in-line link the Site or any part of it within another website without our prior written consent;
- create a hyperlink to the Site that suggests sponsorship, endorsement or affiliation that doesn't exist;
- use any automated tool (such as a scraper, crawler or bot) to access, copy or extract the Materials, except for legitimate search-engine indexing in accordance with our
robots.txt; or - otherwise use the Site or the Materials in a way that infringes our or any other person's rights.
4. User Content and Your Licence to Us
If you post, submit, comment, upload or otherwise provide any material to the Site, our social media channels, our email or any other channel we operate ("User Content") — including comments, articles, photographs, videos, reviews and forum posts — you confirm that:
- you are at least 13 years old (and, where required, your parent or guardian has consented);
- you own the User Content, or have all rights and permissions necessary to submit it;
- the User Content is accurate, lawful, and does not infringe any third party's rights or breach these Terms; and
- you accept full responsibility for the User Content, including any consequences of submitting it.
By submitting User Content, you grant us (and anyone we authorise) a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to use, copy, store, reproduce, modify, adapt, translate, publish, distribute, transmit, publicly display, and create derivative works from the User Content, in any medium now known or later developed, for any purpose connected with our business — including editorial, promotional and commercial use. You also grant us the right to identify you as the author by name, screen name or email address where we consider it appropriate.
If you create User Content for us in the course of a paid engagement (such as a contributor agreement), you assign to us, on creation and without further compensation, all intellectual property rights in that User Content, to the maximum extent permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and any other applicable law. Where any such rights cannot be assigned, you grant us an exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide licence to deal with the User Content as if we owned it. You also consent, to the extent permitted by law, to any acts or omissions that would otherwise infringe your moral rights in the User Content.
We have the right — but not the obligation — to display, edit, refuse, remove or stop using any User Content, at any time, for any reason.
5. Account Registration and Passwords
To access certain features of the Site (such as paid content, comments or community areas), we may ask you to register and provide information including your name, email address and demographic details. You agree to:
- provide accurate, current and complete information when registering;
- keep your information up to date;
- maintain the confidentiality of your username and password;
- log out at the end of each session, particularly on shared devices; and
- be responsible for all activity carried out under your account, whether by you or anyone else using your credentials.
You must notify us immediately if you suspect any unauthorised use of your account or any other security breach. We aren't liable for any loss arising from your failure to keep your credentials secure. If we have reasonable grounds to believe the information you've provided is untrue, inaccurate, outdated or incomplete, we may suspend or terminate your account and refuse you further access to the Site.
6. Acceptable Use and Community Conduct
The Site may include interactive features such as comments, forums, member communities, chat rooms and email. You alone are responsible for the User Content you post or send. By using interactive features you agree NOT to:
- harass, abuse, threaten, defame or impersonate any person or organisation, or misrepresent your affiliation with anyone;
- post or transmit content that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, sexually explicit, hateful, discriminatory, or that promotes violence or illegal activity;
- post or transmit content that infringes any person's intellectual property, privacy, publicity or other rights;
- post or transmit viruses, malware or other harmful code;
- attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Site, any account, server or network — for example by hacking, password mining or any similar method;
- interfere with or disrupt the Site, its servers, or networks connected to it;
- use the Site to advertise, solicit, promote or sell products, services or donations without our written permission;
- harvest email addresses or other personal information of other users for marketing or any other purpose;
- engage in conduct that restricts another user's ability to use or enjoy the Site; or
- use the Site for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms.
We may, at any time and at our discretion, edit, remove or refuse to publish any User Content; suspend or expel users who breach these Terms; and disclose User Content to authorities where required by law or where we reasonably believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, our users or the public. We have no obligation to monitor User Content but reserve the right to do so.
The opinions expressed by users in our interactive areas are the users' own and don't reflect our views. We don't guarantee the accuracy of, and accept no responsibility for, opinions, advice, information or statements made by users.
7. Paid Products and Services (Future)
The Site is currently free. If we introduce paid products, services, subscriptions, courses, memberships or event tickets in the future, those will be governed by additional terms specific to the relevant product — including price, payment terms, delivery, sharing restrictions, refunds and cancellation rights. Those product-specific terms will be made available to you at the point of purchase and will sit alongside these Terms.
8. Third-Party Links and Content
The Site may contain links to, or content from, third-party websites and services. Those links and content are provided for convenience and don't imply endorsement or sponsorship by us. We don't operate or control third-party sites and aren't responsible for their content, accuracy, products, services or privacy practices. Any opinions, advice or statements made by third parties on or through the Site are the third party's own and not ours.
9. Disclaimers and Warranties
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Site, the Materials and any products and services offered through the Site are provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. We make no warranty that:
- the Site or any feature will be uninterrupted, secure, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components;
- defects will be corrected; or
- the Materials are accurate, complete, current, reliable or fit for any particular purpose.
This section does not exclude, restrict or modify any rights you may have under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded — see section 10.
For information about the editorial nature of our Content (general information only, not personal advice), please also read our Disclaimer.
10. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, we (and our directors, officers, employees, contributors, contractors, agents, related bodies corporate and licensors) are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary loss or damage — including loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill or anticipated savings — arising out of or connected with your use of, or inability to use, the Site, the Materials, our products or services, third-party content, or any failure or delay on our part, even if we've been advised of the possibility of such loss.
You acknowledge that we are not liable for any defamatory, offensive or unlawful conduct of any user. If you are dissatisfied with the Site or anything on it, your sole and exclusive remedy is to stop using the Site.
Australian Consumer Law. Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies any guarantee, warranty, term, condition, right or remedy implied or imposed by the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)) or other law that cannot lawfully be excluded. To the extent permitted by law, where we are liable for a breach of a non-excludable consumer guarantee in connection with the supply of Materials or services that are not "of a kind ordinarily acquired for personal, domestic or household use or consumption", our liability is limited (at our option) to:
- in the case of services: re-supplying the services or paying the cost of having the services re-supplied; and
- in the case of goods: replacing the goods, supplying equivalent goods, repairing the goods, or paying the cost of replacement, equivalent supply or repair.
11. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold us, our affiliates, successors, assignees and licensees, and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors and agents harmless from and against any claims, demands, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or connected with:
- your breach of these Terms or any applicable law;
- any User Content you submit;
- your use of the Site or the Materials; or
- any infringement by you of another person's rights.
12. Termination
We may suspend, restrict or terminate your access to the Site (or any part of it), or your account, at any time, with or without notice, for any reason — including any breach of these Terms or where we reasonably consider it necessary to protect us, our users or third parties. On termination, your right to use the Site ends, but the provisions of these Terms which by their nature should survive termination (including those covering intellectual property, user content, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, governing law and general terms) will continue to apply.
13. Copyright Complaints
We respect intellectual property rights and expect users to do the same. If you believe in good faith that material on the Site infringes your copyright, please send us a written notice that includes:
- your full name, address and contact details;
- a description of the copyright work you say has been infringed;
- the URL or location on the Site where the infringing material appears;
- a statement that you believe in good faith the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law;
- a statement that the information you've provided is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on the owner's behalf; and
- your physical or electronic signature.
Notices should be addressed to:
Copyright Officer — Aus Property News Email: [INSERT EMAIL, e.g. legal@auspropertynews.com.au] Post: [INSERT POSTAL ADDRESS]
We will assess any properly substantiated notice and take appropriate action under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) and any applicable take-down procedures. If you believe a take-down notice has been issued in error, you may submit a counter-notice to the same address. We may pass copyright notices and counter-notices to the parties involved.
14. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales, Australia. You and we submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales and the courts able to hear appeals from them, in connection with any dispute or matter arising out of these Terms or the Site.
15. General
Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, our Disclaimer and any product- or service-specific terms, form the entire agreement between you and us in relation to the Site, and supersede any prior agreement on the same subject matter.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision will be severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue in force.
Waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision in these Terms is not a waiver of that right or provision.
Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign or transfer our rights and obligations to any related body corporate, successor in business, or purchaser of the Site or the relevant business, without your consent.
No agency. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, agency, joint venture or employment relationship between you and us.
16. Contact
If you have a question about these Terms, please contact us:
Aus Property News Email: [INSERT EMAIL] Post: [INSERT POSTAL ADDRESS]