HQCS TERMS AND CONDITIONS

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Please read these terms of use ("terms") carefully. By accessing, browsing, relying upon or otherwise using any part of this website ("site"), related social media sites or online communities managed by HeadQuarters Counselling Services you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not accept these terms, you should not access, browse, transact, rely upon or otherwise use any part of this site.

Use of HeadQuarters Counselling Services websites

The information provided at or through this Site is general and is not advice on any particular matter. Given the changing nature of laws, rules and regulations, and the inherent hazards of electronic communication, there may be delays, omissions or inaccuracies in information contained at this Site. Accordingly, you should not act on the basis of any information accessed at or through this Site without obtaining and considering appropriate professional advice upon your own circumstances.

Use of HeadQuarters Counselling Services Social Media, Online Communities and Podcast

Information provided on Vee Vinci/Headquarters Counselling Services’ social media and podcast accounts are solely for education and marketing purposes. It is not intended as a substitute for treatment or consultation with a mental health professional.

Please do not rely upon material shared over Vee Vinci/Headquarters Counselling Services’ social media and podcast accounts for mental health advice.

All Vee Vinci/Headquarters Counselling Services’ social media accounts are publicly visible. If you are a current or former client please be aware that engaging (following, liking, commenting etc.) with Vee Vinci/Headquarters Counselling Services’ social media accounts may limit your confidentiality and privacy.

HeadQuarters Counselling Services has ultimate editorial control over all its online services. We may edit, remove or exercise discretion not to publish contributions for legal, privacy or operational reasons or if we consider it to be inappropriate. Inappropriate use of social media includes, (but not limited to):

Conducting a private business on HeadQuarters Counselling Services social media presence
Using discriminatory, defamatory, abusive or otherwise objectionable language, stalking, bullying, trolling or marginalising any individual or group accessing, promoting or uploading pornographic, gambling or illegal content, including extreme images of graphic content (blood and gore etc) or information regarding activity relating to firearms, bombs, terrorism etc
Accessing or promoting sites that promote hatred or extreme/fundamental beliefs and values
Direct political affiliation
Uploading information of a confidential nature, especially in regards to HeadQuarters Counselling Services, clients or staff.
Hacking or attempting to infiltrate the systems of HeadQuarters Counselling Services or another organisation
Criticising or denigrating HeadQuarters Counselling Services, or other organisations, and our/their employees, volunteers or supporters.

HeadQuarters Counselling Services owns and retains the copyrights in the materials found at this Site (but not materials accessed at other sites from this Site). You may download, view and print materials from this Site subject to the following:

The materials must be used solely for personal, informational, non-commercial purposes; and
The materials must not be modified or altered in any way. Except as expressly provided herein, you must not use, download, upload, copy, print, display, perform, reproduce, publish, licence, post, transmit or distribute any materials from this Site in whole or in part without the prior written permission of HeadQuarters Counselling Services. If you breach any of these Terms, your authorisation to use this Site automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any downloaded or printed materials.

Sale of goods or services (including cancellation policy)

Unless otherwise expressly stipulated by HeadQuarters Counselling Services, any sale of goods or services from the site is subject to the following conditions:

Fulfilment
HeadQuarters Counselling Services will endeavour to provide accurate and fast fulfilment of any orders placed using the site. However, HeadQuarters Counselling Services is not liable for delays caused by suppliers, postal and courier companies or any other circumstances.

Currency
All transactions are in Australian Dollars. If any amounts are shown in other currencies these are only indicative and may vary due to exchange rate variations at the actual time of transaction.

Credit Card Use
If credit card payment is facilitated by the site, HeadQuarters Counselling Services undertakes to use Credit Card details only as specified by you in relation to purchases made on the site. Illegal use of credit cards is a serious crime. HeadQuarters Counselling Services will report any suspicious activity and disclose all relevant evidence to credit card companies and law enforcement authorities.

Identity fraud
You must not impersonate any person or entity or enter a fictitious name or purport to be authorised to represent any entity if that entity has not authorised you to do so in connection with your use of the site.

Errors in description or pricing
Errors may occur in the description or pricing of products or services offered on the site. HeadQuarters Counselling Services may cancel any transaction if any such error occurs, notwithstanding any confirmation of an order or acceptance of payment.

Any supply of goods or services by HeadQuarters Counselling Services is subject to any express written warranties offered by HeadQuarters Counselling Services.

FEES, CANCELLATIONS AND REFUND POLICY

Fees
Services are offered to the public on a fee for service basis. Specific fees are charged for 1:1 counselling sessions, individual workshops or courses and online programs.

System Requirements for Online Programs and 1:1 Counselling

Participants wishing to participate in online programs and 1:1 counselling will be solely responsible for ensuring that their IT platform meets the minimum system requirements as set out in the Terms of Use (see below).

CANCELLATION & REFUNDS

We understand that illness and unforeseen circumstances may prevent you from attending a face-to-face or online appointment.

Our cancellation policy requires you to provide us with 24 hours’ notice should you need to cancel your appointment. A late cancellation fee (50% of the session fee) will apply if you cancel within 24 hours of your scheduled appointment. A non-attendance fee (50% of the session fee) will apply if you do not attend your scheduled appointment.

Illness

To ensure we can minimise the spread of illness and continue to support as many people as possible, face-to-face appointments will be converted online (video appointment via Zoom) in the event you or your therapist is mildly unwell.

If you are unwell, please contact us soon as possible so that we can convert your appointment.

If your therapist is unwell, you will be advised that your face-to-face appointment will be converted online. Instructions on how to access your appointment will also be provided. If you decline the offer to convert your appointment online, you will not be charged for cancelling the appointment if there is more than 24 hours until your scheduled appointment or if your therapist has advised an online appointment will not be suitable for your treatment.

Please be aware that if you decline the offer of an online appointment you may experience delays in rebooking future appointments.

In the unlikely event your therapist needs to cancel your appointment you will not be charged and we will reschedule your appointment to a time convenient to you as soon as possible.

Cancellation by HeadQuarters Counselling Services – Workshops or Online Programs

If for any reason a workshop or program is cancelled participants are offered the following options:

a placement on the next available workshop or online program
credit for an alternative workshop or program to the value of the fee paid,
or a full refund.

Non-attendance

If a participant does not attend a workshop/program or 1:1 counselling session, face to face or online, including but not limited to failure to meet the minimum system requirements, there will be no entitlement to a refund. A non-attendance fee (50% of the session fee) will apply if you do not attend your scheduled appointment.

System Requirements

To attend our online programs and 1:1 counselling sessions you will need:

A computer, laptop or tablet (such as an iPad) with a built-in camera or webcam, headphones (preferred) or speakers, and a microphone (already built-in on most devices). Smartphones are not appropriate due to the nature of any group sessions, and because many lack the functionality required to ensure proper participation. Once the course has started it is a requirement that your camera is enabled for the duration of the session.
A good, reliable internet connection
A quiet, private space to attend the session and maintain confidentiality, preferably at a desk or table with your device in front of you, rather than lying on a bed or couch.
Access to Zoom Video Conferencing (link: https://zoom.us/). It is important to use the most up to date version
You will be emailed any resources required a few days ahead of the session (e.g. handouts) so the ability to print these out is helpful
You do not need experience in using Zoom to participate – we will provide you with some base information and assistance
If you have not used Zoom and would like to try it, please use the zoom test function (link: https://zoom.us/test )

Unauthorised transactions

There are many inherent risks involved in transmitting information over the Internet. Unauthorised access and faults in computer networks can and do occur which may result in the interception, corruption, alteration, non-delivery, incorrect delivery or loss of information transmitted over the Internet. Consequently, HeadQuarters Counselling Services is unable to warrant that this Site will be free from such risks. You accept the risks associated with the use of this Site and will bear liability for your costs, fees and expenses for any loss or damage suffered.

Disclaimer

HeadQuarters Counselling Services does not attempt to exclude any conditions, warranties, rights or remedies which you may have pursuant to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 or other legislation to the extent that those rights and remedies cannot be excluded by agreement (“non-excludable rights”).

HeadQuarters Counselling Services and its employees and agents expressly disclaim all and any liability to any person in respect of anything and the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done by any person in whole or partial reliance on all or any part of the information accessed at or through this Site.

The materials provided at this Site (and any links from this Site) are provided "as is". Subject to any non-excludable rights and to the maximum extent permitted under the law, HeadQuarters Counselling Services makes no representations or warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including (without limitation) warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement of intellectual property. HeadQuarters Counselling Services does not warrant the accuracy and completeness of information accessed at or through this Site.

HeadQuarters Counselling Services may make changes to the materials at this Site at any time without notice. The materials at this Site may be out of date, and HeadQuarters Counselling Services makes no commitment to update the materials at this Site. Relationships Australia WA may at its discretion change pricing and IT requirements for its Services.

Limitation of liability

Subject to any non-excludable rights and to the maximum extent permitted under the law, in no event will HeadQuarters Counselling Services and its employees be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, direct, indirect, punitive, special, consequential damages, lost profits, lost data or business interruption) arising out of the use, inability to use, or the results of use of this Site, any web sites linked to this Site, or the materials or information contained at any or all such sites, whether based on contract, tort, statute, common law, equity or any other legal theory and whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages. If circumstance arise where you are entitled to claim damages from HeadQuarters Counselling Services notwithstanding the provisions of these Terms, our liability to you for the aggregate of such claims (regardless of the basis on which you are entitled to claim from us including, without limitation, negligence) is limited to the provision of the services again or the cost of providing the services again (at our election). You must indemnify HeadQuarters Counselling Services and the hosts, operators, developers of and contributors to this Site and keep each of them indemnified against all claims, liabilities, expenses (including legal fees on a solicitor-client basis) or losses that may be made against or sustained by any of them arising from your breach of these Terms or otherwise howsoever from or in connection with your use of the Site.

User submissions

Any materials (including without limitation comments, feedback and information) provided by you in connection with this Site shall be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary.

HeadQuarters Counselling Services shall have no obligation of any kind with respect to such materials and shall be free to use or disseminate such materials on an unrestricted basis for any purpose. You acknowledge that you are responsible for the materials that you submit, and that you, not HeadQuarters Counselling Services, have full responsibility for the materials including their legality, reliability, appropriateness, originality and copyright.

Links to third party websites

Links to third party web sites on this Site are provided solely as a convenience to you and such links should not be taken to imply any type of association, sponsorship, endorsement, monitoring, approval of, or responsibility for, the linked site or its content. HeadQuarters Counselling Services has not reviewed any of these third party sites and should you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to this Site, you do this entirely at your own risk.

Links to this site

Any site that links to this Site:

Must link to our home page
Must not replicate HeadQuarters Counselling Services content or content of Third Parties accessed through this Site
Must not create a browser or border environment around HeadQuarters Counselling Services content
Must not imply any endorsement by HeadQuarters Counselling Services
Must not misrepresent its relationship with HeadQuarters Counselling Services
Must not present false information about the services of HeadQuarters Counselling Services
Must not use the HeadQuarters Counselling Services logo without the prior written permission of HeadQuarters Counselling Services
Must not contain content that could be construed as distasteful, offensive or controversial, and should contain only content that is appropriate for all age groups.

Viruses

HeadQuarters Counselling Services cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that any files available for downloading through this Site will be free of infection or viruses, worms, Trojan horses or other code that manifests contaminating or destructive properties. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining an appropriate means for the reconstruction of any lost data.

Applicable law

This Site is administered by HeadQuarters Counselling Services from its offices in Perth, Australia. These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Western Australia, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law. Any legal proceedings arising out of or in connection with the use of this Site must be commenced in the appropriate court in the State of Western Australia. If you use this Site from locations outside of Western Australia, you are solely responsible for compliance with your local laws.

If any provision of these Terms is unlawful, void or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severed from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

HeadQuarters Counselling Services may revise at its sole discretion these Terms at any time by updating this posting. You are bound by such revisions and should therefore regularly revisit this page to review the then current Terms by which you are bound.

Application of this privacy statement
HeadQuarters Counselling Services ("we", "us" or "our") will endeavour to comply with the principles specified in this Privacy Statement with respect to the privacy of personal information collected through this website ("Site") or which is submitted to us in any form by you or by any person on your behalf.

By accessing and using our Site or by submitting information to us or providing information to third parties which is then submitted to us, you consent to our collection and use of information in accordance with this Privacy Statement.

Collection and use of submitted information
We may collect and retain personal and other information about you ("submitted information") when (a) you send us personal information in an email or by other means; or (b) you complete and submit an online form or (c) a third party submits information about you to us.

It is not practicable for information submitted electronically to be provided to us anonymously. However, where appropriate you may use traditional means of communication to provide information to us anonymously.

The submitted information which we retain may include your email address and personal or other information. We may use the submitted information for our internal purposes and to communicate with you regarding our products and services or the products and services of third parties or for any other reasonable purpose connected with the operation of our business. You may elect not to receive such communications from us, either at the time you submit the information or at a later time. We will not sell submitted information to third parties or intentionally disclose submitted information to third parties except to the extent that you have consented to such disclosure.

Except to the extent necessary for the operation of our business or as authorised by you or as required by law, we will not use or disclose submitted information for any other purpose.

We will take reasonable steps to implement and maintain security precautions. However, we are unable to guarantee that unauthorised access to information submitted to us will not occur, either during transmission of that information or after we receive that information.

If we no longer require your personal information, we will take reasonable steps to permanently destroy or de-identify that information. You acknowledge that our back-up procedures may make it impractical to locate and destroy or de-identify copies of your personal information which are stored off-line or in a form which does not readily permit location and modification of data.

If you submit information to any other site accessed through a link from our Site, the privacy principles applying to any information you submit to that site are outside our control. You should check the privacy policies of any other site before submitting information to that site.

Collection and use of cookies and clickstream data
We may use cookies in connection with your access to and use of our Site (a cookie is a small amount of data that some websites place on your computer when you visit them).

When you visit our Site, our servers may record a range of information relating to your access and use of the Site (collectively called "clickstream data"). We may examine clickstream data relating to your use of our Site.

If we or any authority suspect that unauthorised access or use of the Site has occurred or may occur or be attempted, we may gather, use and disclose more extensive information than indicated above regarding access or attempted access to the Site for the purposes of prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution.

Correction of errors and access to personal information
We will take reasonable measures to ensure all personal information held about you is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

We will correct any errors in the personal information which we collect about you upon receipt of written evidence from you which satisfies us that a correction is required.

We will provide you with access to your personal information on reasonable request and subject to your agreement to pay our access charges if (a) it is practicable for us to do so and we have no other reasonable grounds for refusing access, (b) the request is not frivolous or vexatious, (c) access will not have an unreasonable impact on the privacy of others, (d) the information does not relate to existing or anticipated legal proceedings (other than information accessible through the discovery process), (e) access will not reveal our intentions in relation to any negotiations with you, (f) access is not unlawful (g) denying access is not required or authorised by law, and (h) access will not prejudice any prevention, detection, investigation or prosecution of possible unlawful or improper activity.