1. General
a. These terms govern your use of the websites operated by The Allergen Bureau Limited ACN 162 786 389 (Allergen Bureau), including at https://allergenbureau.net, https://info.allergenbureau.net/ and https://vital.allergenbureau.net and including VITAL Online, the VITAL Program and VITAL Calculator services (Websites).
b. You are only authorised to access or use the Websites if you accept and agree to these terms. Your continued use of the Websites is acceptance of, and agreement to be bound by, these terms and any amendments.
c. The Allergen Bureau may amend these terms from time to time. Any amended terms will be effective:
- in respect of members of the Allergen Bureau, from your next Membership Year (as defined in clause 5.2), and in respect of subscribers to the VITAL Online services, from your next Subscription Period (as defined in clause 5.3); and
- otherwise, immediately on posting on the Websites.
d. The Allergen Bureau has the right to exclude any users from accessing the Websites including if they are in breach of these terms.
2. Information on the Websites
a. The Allergen Bureau will use reasonable endeavours to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information on or obtained through the Websites, and of any results obtained through the VITAL Calculator or other VITAL Program documents or tools. However, the Allergen Bureau does not accept responsibility and is not liable for erroneous results, compliance with food labelling laws and regulations or the management of the risk of product liability and personal injury. You acknowledge and agree that information on the Websites and results obtained through them are made available on the understanding and condition that:
- the Allergen Bureau provides, amongst other information, risk management tools which may assist in a total approach to allergen risk management;
- the Allergen Bureau is not providing professional advice;
- the Allergen Bureau does not guarantee that a consumer will not suffer an allergic response;
- results obtained through the VITAL Calculator or other VITAL Program documents or tools will be affected by the accuracy of the data provided by you; and
- the VITAL Calculator, VITAL Program other Allergen Bureau tools utilise underlying data that the Allergen Bureau sources from third parties, and the accuracy or otherwise of such underlying data is beyond the control of Allergen Bureau.
b. If you intend to rely on any information on the Websites or results obtained through them, before relying on any such information or results you must carefully evaluate the accuracy, completeness and relevance of the information or results for your purposes. You must exercise your own skill, care and judgement with respect to use of any material on the Websites and must obtain appropriate professional advice relevant to your particular circumstances.
3. Your Responsibilities
a. In using the Websites, you must not:
- upload any VITAL Inputs or User Content (as defined in clause 4.1 below) containing any trade secrets or any proprietary or sensitive information;
- engage in or encourage a criminal offence;
- breach any applicable law or infringe the rights of any third party;
- impersonate any person or entity or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
- disseminate any harmful content of any kind, including without limitation: viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, zombies, bots or any other computer programming routines that may damage, spy-on, interfere with, intercept or expropriate any system, programme, data or personal information held by us;
- inhibit any other person from using the Websites;
- interfere with or disrupt the security of the Websites or the Allergen Bureau’s servers; or
- attempt or permit any other person to do any of the above acts.
b. If you become aware of misuse of the Websites by any person, any errors in the content on the Websites, or if you have any difficulty in accessing or using the Websites, or any questions about these terms, please contact the Allergen Bureau by email at info@allergenbureau.net.
c. If you use a password to access the Websites you must keep it confidential and secure. If you become aware of any unauthorised use of your password or account, you must notify the Allergen Bureau immediately.
4. VITAL Inputs and User Content
a. We may allow you and other users to:
- upload ingredient, recipe and processing information and other data to VITAL Online and the VITAL Calculator (VITAL Inputs); and
- upload, create, post, store and share content other than VITAL Inputs, including messages, text, photos, videos, software and other materials (User Content).
b. Except for the licences you grant below, or where and to such an extent as the VITAL Inputs or User Content incorporates intellectual property or branding belonging to the Allergen Bureau, you retain all rights in and to your VITAL Inputs and User Content, as between you and the Allergen Bureau.
c. You must ensure that all VITAL Inputs and User Content you submit to the Websites complies with all applicable laws, whether local or international, and that you otherwise comply with this clause in relation to all such content.
d. You acknowledge and agree that it is a condition of your use of the Websites that, in accordance with clause 3.1(a) above, no such trade secrets or proprietary or sensitive information is uploaded.
e. You grant the Allergen Bureau:
- in respect of your VITAL Inputs, a nonexclusive, royalty-free licence to use your VITAL Inputs only to the extent necessary for Allergen Bureau to provide you with the VITAL Online and VITAL Calculator services; and
- in respect of your User Content, a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide and sublicensable licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed without compensation to you. When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through the Websites, you understand that your User Content and any associated information (such as your username or profile photo) may be visible to others.
f. You may not upload, create, post, store or share any VITAL Inputs or User Content that breaches these terms or for which you do not have all the rights necessary to grant the Allergen Bureau the licence described above. You represent and warrant that your VITAL Inputs and User Content, and the Allergen Bureau’s use of your VITAL Inputs and User Content as permitted by these terms, will not breach any rights of or cause injury to any person or entity.
g. You may not upload, create, post, store or share any VITAL Inputs or User Content that is false, misleading, derogatory, defamatory, threatening, pornographic, offensive or otherwise harmful.
h. You may not upload, create, post, store or share any VITAL Inputs or User Content which promotes any third party business or which indicates that the Allergen Bureau endorses any third party business without the Allergen Bureau’s prior written consent.
i. The Allergen Bureau may remove any VITAL Inputs or User Content from the Websites at any time, at our absolute discretion and without notice or liability to you or any other person.
j. If you have any concerns in relation to any VITAL Inputs or User Content please contact the Allergen Bureau using the details available on the Websites.
k. Without limiting clause 4.5(a), you acknowledge and agree that we may access your VITAL Inputs only to the extent necessary for the purposes of maintaining the security and functionality of the VITAL Online and VITAL Calculator services, including software bug remediation:
- with your consent; or
- if we are unable to contact you or you have ceased to hold a VITAL Subscription, without your consent.
l. Although the Allergen Bureau will take reasonable steps to ensure otherwise, and to the extent permitted by law, the Allergen Bureau does not guarantee that the Website security procedures will be error-free, that transmission of your VITAL Inputs or User Content will be secure, that unauthorised third parties will never be able to circumvent our security measures or those of our third party service providers, or that your VITAL Inputs or User Content will be safe from unauthorised access.
m. You release the Allergen Bureau, its officers, employees and agents from all claims and liabilities of any nature that you have, or may have in the future, arising from any unauthorised access to or use of any VITAL Inputs or User Content, except to the extent such claims and liabilities are caused or contributed to by the Allergen Bureau’s breach of these terms.
5. Membership and Subscriptions
a. You may apply to become a member of the Allergen Bureau (Allergen Bureau Membership) and/or to subscribe to the VITAL Online service (VITAL Subscription), in accordance with the information on the Websites.
b. Allergen Bureau Memberships run from 1 April to 31 March (Membership Year), and the initial amount charged for new memberships is calculated on a pro-rata basis.
c. VITAL Subscriptions run on a yearly or monthly basis (Subscription Period) at your election.
d. The Allergen Bureau’s prices are as displayed on the Websites. Unless otherwise indicated, prices stated on the Websites exclude GST. Terms used in this clause that are defined in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 have the same meaning as in that Act.
e. The Allergen Bureau may change its prices in respect of the next Membership Year or Subscription Period at any time, and will notify members and subscribers at least 1 month prior.
f. If for any reason the Allergen Bureau is not able to take payment when it attempts to do so, your application will not be accepted.
g. When you make an application, you warrant that the information you provide to the Allergen Bureau for the purposes of the application is true and correct, and you must notify the Allergen Bureau of any changes to the information.
h. If you are an individual applying for Allergen Bureau Membership or VITAL Subscription on behalf of an organisation, registered business, incorporated body or other legal entity (Business), you warrant that you are authorised by the Business to apply for, maintain and pay for the Allergen Bureau Membership or VITAL Subscription, and to bind the Business to these terms, on behalf of the Business.
i. You must not apply multiple times within the subscription or membership period. Individual Associate Members must not apply for Allergen Bureau membership for any person other than themselves.
j. You agree to pay all amounts owing to the Allergen Bureau within 30 days for annual Membership and/or annual VITAL Online subscriptions, or within 7 days for monthly VITAL Online subscriptions.
6. Copyright and Trade Marks
a. Material contained on the Websites may be protected by intellectual property laws. Unless otherwise indicated, or it is otherwise clear from the circumstances, the Allergen Bureau owns or controls the copyright and other intellectual property in the content and design of the Websites, and in any document or tool that can be downloaded or accessed from the Websites, and may enforce its rights without further notice.
b. Other than saving an unaltered electronic copy or printing for personal reference or for use within your organisation, you cannot copy, modify, translate, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, sell or reproduce any content on the Websites in whole or part without the express written approval of the Allergen Bureau.
c. You may not use any content on the Websites to establish, maintain, or provide, or assist in establishing, maintaining or providing your own publications, whether on a Website or otherwise. In particular, you may not sell access to any material for any commercial benefit anywhere in the world or otherwise including adapting, appropriating or copying any part.
d. The Allergen Bureau retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Websites, and nothing in these terms operates to transfer any intellectual property rights to you or authorise you to exercise any intellectual property right other than as expressly permitted under these terms.
e. If you wish to reproduce any text or images from the Websites you must contact the Allergen Bureau for consent, which may be withheld in the Allergen Bureau’s absolute discretion.
7. Links
a. The Websites may contain links to other websites that are external to the Allergen Bureau. The Allergen Bureau has no direct control over the content or operation of the linked websites and is not responsible for such content or operation. Inclusion of any linked website on the Websites does not imply approval or endorsement of the linked website by the Allergen Bureau.
8. Cookies
a. The Websites use “cookie” technology to assist in identifying registered users and delivering contents specific to your interest. If you do not wish information to be gathered on a cookie you should disable the acceptance of cookies by your web browser.
9. Privacy
a. The Allergen Bureau respects the privacy of individuals. The Allergen Bureau will deal with personal information collected via the Websites for the purposes disclosed on the Websites and in accordance with its privacy policy at https://allergenbureau.net/allergen-bureau-website-privacy-policy/, and in respect of the VITAL Programs in accordance with its privacy policy at https://vital.allergenbureau.net/privacy-policy.
10. Access to Websites
a. Although the Allergen Bureau takes care to ensure otherwise, the Allergen Bureau does not guarantee that:
- you will be able to access the Websites at all times;
- your access will be uninterrupted or secure; or
- the Websites and servers are free of viruses and bugs.
11. Liability and indemnity
a. To the extent permitted by law, the liability of the Allergen Bureau, its officers, employees and agents in respect of the supply of products or services under these terms and in respect of negligence is limited to the amount of the payments made by you to the Allergen Bureau for them.
b. To the extent permitted by law, in no event will the Allergen Bureau, its officers, employees or agents, be liable to you or any third party (whether in contract, tort or otherwise) for any special, indirect or consequential loss or loss of profit (whether special, indirect or consequential or not) arising under these terms, from your use of the Websites, your reliance on any information on the Websites or results obtained through the Websites, or in any document or tool that can be downloaded or accessed from the Websites, or any technical failures, delays in operation or transmission or malfunctions in equipment or software.
c. To the extent permitted by law, the Allergen Bureau’s liability in respect of consumer guarantees is limited to:
- in the case of products, either supplying the products again or paying the cost of having the products supplied again; and
- in the case of the services, either supplying the services again or paying the cost of having the services supplied again.
d. Except for terms that cannot be excluded by law, all terms other than those expressly contained in these terms are excluded.
e. Nothing in these terms limits any of your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.
f. You indemnify the Allergen Bureau, its officers, employees and agents (Indemnitees) against all liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including all legal costs, whether incurred or awarded) suffered or incurred by the Indemnitees in relation to any breach by you of your obligations under these terms.
12. Miscellaneous
a. Nothing contained in these terms of use creates an agency, partnership, joint venture or employment relationship between the Allergen Bureau and you or any of the Allergen Bureau’s or your respective officers, employees, agents or contractors.
b. These terms of use are governed by and must be construed in accordance with the laws of New South Wales.
c. Each party irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales and all courts that have jurisdiction to hear appeals from these courts and waives any right to object to proceedings being brought in those courts for any reason.
