Last updated: 12 August 2023

Empath Designs Terms & Conditions

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS WEBSITE.

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy and website disclaimer, govern EmpathDesigns.com’s relationship with you in relation to your use of this website.

By using this website, you signify your acceptance of these terms and conditions of use. For the purposes of these terms and conditions, “Us”, “Our” and “We” refers to EmpathDesigns.com and “You” and “Your” refers to you, the client, visitor, website user or person using our website.

AMENDMENT OF TERMS

We reserve the right to change, modify, add or remove portions of these terms at any time. Please check these terms regularly prior to using our website to ensure you are aware of any changes. We will endeavour to highlight any significant or substantive changes to you where possible. If you choose to use our website then we will regard that use as conclusive evidence of your agreement and acceptance that these terms govern your and EmpathDesigns.com’s rights and obligations to each other.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

It is an essential pre-condition to you using our website that you agree and accept that EmpathDesigns.com is not legally responsible for any loss or damage you might suffer related to your use of the website, whether from errors or from omissions in our documents or information, any goods or services we may offer or from any other use of the website. This includes your use or reliance on any third party content, links, comments or advertisements. Your use of, or reliance on, any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable.

It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific, personal requirements. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.

COMPETITION AND CONSUMER ACT

For the purposes of Schedule 2 of the Australian Consumer Law, in particular Sections 51 to 53, 64 and 64A of Part 3-2, Division 1, Subdivision A of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), EmpathDesigns.com’s liability for any breach of a term of this agreement is limited to: the supplying of the goods or services to you again; the replacement of the goods; or the payment of the cost of having the goods or services supplied to you again.

You must be over 18 years of age to use this website and to purchase any goods or services.

DELIVERY OF GOODS

Physical goods may be delivered by Australia Post and/or other reputable courier companies. Deliveries are processed promptly upon receipt of full payment. Delivery may take between 2 and 14 days, depending on the delivery option. Damaged or lost orders should be resolved with Australia Post or the courier company directly and we are not responsible for goods that are damaged in transit or not received. Replacement of damaged or lost items is made at the discretion of EmpathDesigns.com.

Digital goods are delivered immediately. Please be aware there are inherent risks associated with downloading any software and digital goods. Should you have any technical problems downloading any of our goods, please contact us so we may try to assist you.

RETURNS AND REFUNDS

EmpathDesigns.com handles returns and processes refunds in accordance with the Australian Consumer Protection legislation.

Should you wish to return your order, please notify us within 7 days of purchase with a valid reason for return. If we are unable to resolve your complaint or further assist you, we will either process a refund upon timely receipt of the goods purchased or an exchange for a similar priced item. Unopened and undamaged goods will be refunded in full. Refunds will be processed promptly and payment made by the same method that you made payment. All refunds are made at the discretion of EmpathDesigns.com.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

EmpathDesigns.com may from time to time provide on its website, links to other websites, advertisements and information on those websites for your convenience. This does not necessarily imply sponsorship, endorsement, or approval or arrangement between EmpathDesigns.com and the owners of those websites. EmpathDesigns.com takes no responsibility for any of the content found on the linked websites.

EmpathDesigns.com’s website may contain information or advertisements provided by third parties for which EmpathDesigns.com accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any information or advice provided to you directly by third parties. We are making a ‘recommendation’ only and are not providing any advice nor do we take any responsibility for any advice received in this regard.

DISCLAIMER

To the fullest extent permitted by law, EmpathDesigns.com absolutely disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for any particular purpose. EmpathDesigns.com gives no warranty that the documents, goods or services will be free of errors, or that defects will be corrected, or that our website or its server is free of viruses or any other harmful components.

Whilst we, at all times endeavour to have the most accurate, reliable and up-to-date information on our website, we do not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the result of the use of any document, product, service, link or information in its website or as to their correctness, suitability, accuracy, reliability, or otherwise.

It is your sole responsibility and not the responsibility of EmpathDesigns.com to bear any and all costs of servicing, repairs, or correction. The applicable law in your state or territory may not permit these exclusions, particularly the exclusions of some implied warranties. Some of the above may not apply to you but you must ensure you are aware of any risk you may be taking by using this website or any products or services that may be offered through it. It is your responsibility to do so.

YOUR PRIVACY

At EmpathDesigns.com, we are committed to protecting your privacy. We use the information we collect about you to maximize the services that we provide to you. We respect the privacy and confidentiality of the information provided by you and adhere to the Australian Privacy Principles. Please read our separate Privacy Policy carefully.

You may change your details at any time by advising us in writing via email. All information we receive from our customers is protected by our secure servers. EmpathDesigns.com’s secure server software encrypts all customer information before it is sent to us. Furthermore, all customer data collected is secured against unauthorized use or access. Credit card information is not stored by us on our servers.

THIRD PARTIES

We do not and will not sell or deal in personal or customer information. We may however use in a general sense without any reference to your name, your information to create marketing statistics, identify user demands and assist in meeting customer needs generally. In addition, we may use the information that you provide to improve our website and services but not for any other use.

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION

EmpathDesigns.com may be required, in certain circumstances, to disclose information in good faith and where EmpathDesigns.com is required to do so in the following circumstances: by law or by any court; to enforce the terms of any of our customer agreements; or to protect the rights, property or safety of our customers or third parties.

EXCLUSION OF COMPETITORS

If you are in the business of creating similar documents, goods or services for the purpose of providing them for a fee to users, whether they be business users or domestic users, then you are a competitor of EmpathDesigns.com. EmpathDesigns.comexpressly excludes and does not permit you to use or access our website, to download any documents or information from its website or obtain any such documents or information through a third party. If you breach this term then EmpathDesigns.com will hold you fully responsible for any loss that we may sustain and further hold you accountable for all profits that you might make from such unpermitted and improper use. EmpathDesigns.com reserves the right to exclude and deny any person access to our website, services or information in our sole discretion.

COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK AND RESTRICTIONS OF USE

This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance, trademarks and graphics. You are not permitted to reproduce the documents, information or materials on the website for the purposes of sale or the use by any third party. In particular you are not permitted to republish, upload, transmit electronically or otherwise or distribute any of the materials, documents or products that may be available for download from time to time on this website.

EmpathDesigns.com expressly reserves all copyright and trademark in all documents, information and materials on our website and we reserve the right to take action against you if you breach any of these terms.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following: you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only; and you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material.

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

WHOLE AGREEMENT

These terms and conditions represent the whole agreement between you and EmpathDesigns.com concerning your use and access to EmpathDesigns.com’s website and your use and access to the documents and information on it. No other term is to be included in this agreement except where it is required to be included by any legislation of the Commonwealth or any State or Territory. All implied terms except those implied by statute and which cannot be expressly excluded are hereby expressly excluded.

EXCLUSION OF UNENFORCEABLE TERMS

Where any clause or term above would by any applicable statute be illegal, void, or unenforceable in any State or Territory then such a clause shall not apply in that State or Territory and shall be deemed never to have been included in these terms and conditions in that State or Territory. Such a clause if legal and enforceable in any other State or Territory shall continue to be fully enforceable and part of this agreement in those other States and Territories. The deemed exclusion of any term pursuant to this paragraph shall not affect or modify the full enforceability and construction of the other clauses of these terms and conditions.

JURISDICTION

This agreement and this website are subject to the laws of VIC and Australia. If there is a dispute between you and EmpathDesigns.com that results in litigation then you must submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of VIC.

 

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PRE-ORDER TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. Pre-Order Reservation

These Pre-Order Terms and Conditions govern the placing of Pre-Orders (“Pre-Order”) with Empath Designs (“we”, “ us”, or “Empath Designs”) for our products (“Products”). Please read these Terms carefully before submitting your Pre-Order of any Empath Designs’ Products. By submitting your Pre-Order, you agree to be legally bound by these terms.

When placing a Pre-Order for Empath Designs’ Products, you will be required to provide certain information, such as your address and billing information. You represent and warrant that all such information is accurate, and you shall ensure that such information is kept current. Empath Designs shall have no responsibility or liability for inaccurate information or information that later becomes outdated, and shall have no obligation to make efforts to determine the correct contact or shipping information. You can update your information at any time prior to your product being shipped by sending an e-mail to germaine@empathdesigns.com.

You acknowledge and agree that Empath Designs may decline or delay reservations to avoid over-subscription or as it deems appropriate, provided that we will make efforts to inform you within two (2) weeks of our receipt of your Pre-Order, and that you will be entitled to a full refund of the purchase Price.

2. Payment

You will be charged the full Price of the Products at the time of placing the Pre-Order. If Empath Designs is unable to commence shipping the Products in 30 days, Empath Designs shall process a full refund to you. Your placing of a Pre-Order constitutes your express agreement to Empath Designs of charging the full Price of the Products at such time.

3. Priority

Empath Designs will build Products according to the order in which the Pre-Order is received. If you cancel or forfeit your reservation in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, your position will be taken by the next person on the Product reservation list.

4. Delivery Schedule

Pre-Orders are shipped from Empath Designs based in Mooroolbark, Victoria, Australia. Pre-Ordered items may take up to six to eight (6-8) weeks to deliver depending on Product assembly and location of where to send the Pre-Ordered Products. Since Empath Designs uses the Australia Post network for domestic posting, please allow approximately 3-8 business days for delivery depending on where you are in Australia. For Northern Territory and non-Metro Western Australia customers, please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.

Although we will make efforts to begin delivering Products as soon as reasonably practicable, you understand and agree that there may be delays. An estimated time of delivery (ETD) is only an estimate, is subject to change, and Empath Designs does not represent or warrant that it will be able to ship the Product by the estimated date. As a result, in the event that a delay arises and the estimated shipment and/or release of the product is not met, Empath Designs is not responsible for any damages that may occur due to the delay, nor shall it be obligated, except as set forth in these Terms, to provide any discounts, refunds or credits due to any such delays. We will provide you periodical updates with respect to such delivery schedule. If for any reason you decide that you do not wish to continue to wait for your Product, you may cancel your reservation as provided for in Section 5 below.

5. Cancellation

You or Empath Designs may cancel this reservation by terminating the Pre-Order at any time for any or no reason prior to our notice to you that your Product is ready to ship.

If you do so prior to our notice of shipping of the Pre-Order item, you will obtain a full refund. If Empath Designs cancels your Pre-Order, you will receive a full refund.

6. Limitation of Liability

Under no circumstances will Empath Designs be held liable for any incidental, special or consequential damages arising out or related to this Agreement. In the event Empath Designs is held liable for any damages arising out of related to this agreement, your sole and exclusive remedy will be the full refund of your purchase price without interest.

7. Terms and Conditions of Sale

The purchase of the Products is subject to additional terms and conditions provided by Empath Designs. Other related current terms and policies can be found in the footer of the website and are subject to change without notice. Your purchase of the Product will be subject to these terms and conditions and the refund policy

8. Customer Information

We will use any information that we may collect about you only in accordance with our privacy policy.

9. Changes to the Terms

Empath Designs reserves the right to change any of the terms for any or no reason. We will provide notice of any material changes and, if you are unhappy with such changes, your sole and exclusive remedy will be to cancel your reservation as described in Section 6 above.

10. Miscellaneous Provisions

These Terms constitutes the entire agreement between the parties pertaining to its subject matter and it supersedes all prior agreements, representations and understandings of the parties. This Agreement shall be governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Australian Government. The venue for any actions relating to the subject matter or enforcement of this Agreement shall be in Australia, the place were this Agreement was entered and is to be performed. You may not assign this Agreement or any of the rights granted to you hereunder.

 

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GIVEAWAY AND COMPETITION TERMS & CONDITIONS

1. Introduction

1.1 These rules apply to all competitions, prize draws, promotions, giveaways and suchlike that are promoted on and run through our website or social media channels.

1.2 To enter a competition you must enter as directed on our website or social media channels.

1.3 Our competitions are free to enter (no purchase required, unless otherwise stated).

1.4 Promotions on social media are in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Instagram, LinkedIn or any other social network. 

2. Eligibility and entry restrictions

2.1 To be eligible to enter a competition:

(a) entrants must be a real person, at least 13 years old and have a shipping address (proof of address or age may be required)

(b) Competition entrants for our promotions on social media must have a genuine account and must ‘like’ the Empath Designs social network page (Facebook, Instagram etc.) as part of the entry process.

- No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win.

- Giveaways and competitions by Empath Designs are not sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook or Instagram.

3. Start and closing dates

3.1 A competition shall open for entries at the time and on the date specified on our website and/or social media channels, and similarly, shall close to entries at the time and on the date specified on our website and social media channels. Unless otherwise stated, these times and dates are set to those for UTC (Co-ordinated Universal Time).

3.2 Any entries received before the opening or after the closing of the competition will be invalid and will not be entered into the competition.

3.3 No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

3.4 We reserve the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of our control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by us.

3.5 Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of all of these terms and conditions.

4. Judging

4.1 Competition entries shall be judged or winners selected on the basis of those criteria specified on our website and/or social media channels in relation to the competition.

4.2 If a competition entrant does not meet the eligibility requirements or is subject to any entry restrictions, that entrant shall not be entitled to be adjudged a winner, and will not be entitled to a prize in any circumstances.

4.5 Our decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

4.6 The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by Australian law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Australia.

5. Winners and prizes

5.1 Competition prizes for each competition shall be specified on our website, email list and/or social media channels.

5.2 Competition prize winners will be notified of the competition result by email (if address is asked for/provided) or by direct message on social media (winners must therefore ‘like’ or ‘follow’ our social media accounts in order to be contacted about prizes) not more than 3 days following the closing date of the competition, and will receive their prizes not more than 60 days following that closing date.

5.3 Reasonable efforts will be made to contact the prize winner for 7 days but if the winner fails to respond to our notification attempts within this time or provide an address for delivery of the prize or fails to meet any of the eligibility requirements or is otherwise unable to comply with the competition terms and conditions, we reserve the right to disqualify that entrant and offer the prize to the next eligible entrant and thereafter until a winner is found.

5.4 The results of a competition will be announced on our website within 14 days following the closing date of the competition. The announcement may include the name and photograph, the town or region of residence and prize details of each prize winner.

5.5 No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

6. Copyright and moral rights

6.1 You warrant to us that you created your competition entries, that you own all of the copyright in those entries, and that our use of the entries in accordance with these rules will not infringe any person's intellectual property rights or other legal rights.

6.2 You grant to us an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable licence to copy, store, edit, distribute, transmit and publish your competition entries.

6.5 To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you irrevocable and unconditionally waive your rights to be identified as the author of your competition entries and to object to any derogatory treatment of your competition entries.

7. What happens to entries?

7.1 Competition entries will not be returned. Please, therefore, keep a copy of your competition entries.

8. Publicity

8.1 We may undertake publicity activities relating to competitions and prize awards. The winner therefore agrees to the use of their name/username and photograph.

8.2 All other personal details collected as part of the competition will be used in conjunction with our Privacy Policy.

9. Our details

9.1 This prize competition is run by Empath Designs

9.2 Our registered office is PO Box 168, Chirnside Park VIC 3116.

9.3 You can contact us:

(a) by post, using the postal address given above;

(b) using our website contact form;

(c) by email

(d) by direct message on our social media channels.

 

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COMMISSIONED ARTWORK/GRAPHIC/WEB DESIGN TERMS & CONDITIONS

 

This Service Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into on the effective date of the latest signature or confirmation (the "Effective Date"), by and between [Your Name or Company Name], hereinafter referred to as "Provider," and the undersigned client or entity, hereinafter referred to as "Client."

1. Scope of Work

The Provider agrees to perform graphic design, web design, and consultation services (the "Services") as detailed in the attached quotation and specifications. Any changes or additions to the scope of work must be mutually agreed upon in writing by both parties.

2. Work Schedule and Responsibilities

The Provider and Client will work collaboratively to establish project timelines and deliverables. The Client shall provide all necessary information, materials, and approvals required for the completion of the Services. The Client guarantees the ownership or appropriate rights to any materials provided.

3. Client Approvals and Feedback

The Client shall review and approve all final designs, content, and proofs in a timely manner. The Client's approval indicates acceptance of the work. The Provider will make reasonable efforts to ensure accuracy but holds no responsibility for content discrepancies after approval.

4. Payment and Invoicing

The payment terms shall be as follows:

• For all consultations, a 100% payment is required upfront to lock in your consultation. Further rescheduling requires a new booking.
• For ad-hoc work (projects charged by the hour) below $500, a 100% completion payment is invoiced at the end of the task.
• For projects up to $3000, a 50% deposit is required upfront. The remaining 50% completion payment is due upon approval of final designs, before receiving final files.
• For projects above $3000, a 25% deposit is required upfront. Three progress payments of 25% are due fortnightly or monthly, depending on project size.

All invoices under the amount of AUD$1500 are payable within 14 days of the issued invoice. All invoices above the amount of AUD$1500 are payable within 30 days of the issued invoice. Ownership of any license or right of copyright is conditioned on receipt of full payment.

5. Changes and Amendments

The Client is entitled to three rounds of amendments to the work without substantial alteration of the project scope, as outlined in the quotation. Any additional changes or modifications may incur additional fees and will be covered by a separate quotation.

6. Cancellation and Termination

Either party may cancel this Agreement with one month's written notice. Cancellation does not affect payment obligations for work already completed or services already rendered. If the project is terminated for any reason, all copyrights and original artwork remain the property of the Provider.

7. Deliverables

Upon full payment of outstanding invoices, the Client will receive the final project deliverables. Graphic design files will be provided in Adobe Illustrator, PNG, JPG, and EPS formats. Web development files will be uploaded to the client's server within seven business days after approval.

8. Intellectual Property

Upon full payment, the Client is granted a royalty-free license to use the deliverables as specified in the quotation. Ownership and copyright of all original work remain with the Provider unless otherwise agreed upon.

9. Changes to Project Scope

Additional work or changes to the project scope may require a separate quotation. Urgent changes to the project scope may be initiated with an oral quote followed by an invoice.

10. Expenses and Third-Party Vendors

The Client will reimburse the Provider for expenses incurred during the project, including third-party materials. Expenses will be detailed in invoices.

11. Confidentiality

Both parties agree to keep Confidential Information exchanged during the project confidential, except as required by law or regulation.

12. Limitation of Liability

The Provider is not liable for indirect or consequential damages. The maximum liability for any event will not exceed the invoiced fees for the project.

13. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

This Agreement is governed by the laws of [Your Jurisdiction]. Any disputes arising from this Agreement shall be settled through arbitration in [Your Jurisdiction], with each party responsible for their own legal costs.

14. Entire Agreement

This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the parties and supersedes any prior or contemporaneous agreements, whether oral or written.

15. Amendments

The Provider reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions. Any amendments will be communicated in writing.