Terms of Service

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using https://opencommunities.com.au (the "Service") operated by Open Communities ("we," "us," or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you disagree with any part of these terms, you may not access the Service.

Description of Service

Open Communities provides SaaS / Software services through our platform. The Service is provided on a Subscription basis. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service at any time with or without notice.

User Accounts

When you create an account with us, you must provide accurate, complete, and current information. You are responsible for:

We reserve the right to terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• All activities that occur under your account.
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account.

Age Requirements

You must be at least 16 years to use this Service. By using the Service, you represent that you meet this age requirement. If we become aware that a user does not meet this requirement, we will terminate their account.

Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content, features, and functionality are and will remain the exclusive property of Open Communities and its licensors. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without the prior written consent of Open Communities.

User-generated content remains the property of the user, but you grant Open Communities a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, display, and distribute such content in connection with the Service.

Prohibited Uses

You agree not to use the Service:

• In any way that violates applicable laws or regulations.
• To transmit unsolicited commercial communications (spam).
• To impersonate any person or entity.
• To engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits others' use of the Service.
• To attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service.
• To use automated scripts to collect information from or interact with the Service.
• To upload or transmit viruses or other malicious code.

Payment Terms

Our Service operates on a Subscription basis. If you subscribe to a paid plan:

• Fees are billed in advance on a recurring basis.
• All fees are non-refundable unless otherwise stated in our Refund Policy.
• We reserve the right to change our pricing, including usage rates and the payment platform fee, with 30 days' notice.
• Failure to pay may result in suspension or termination of your account.

Usage Wallet

Some charges are based on usage rather than included in your plan, such as WhatsApp and SMS messages, optional AI features and the payment platform fee. These are paid from a prepaid usage wallet held for your community:

• You top up the wallet using a card, processed by Open Communities through Stripe. Usage charges are deducted from the wallet balance as they occur.
• Auto-recharge is on by default: when the balance falls below your chosen threshold, we charge your saved card for your chosen top-up amount. You can change the threshold and amount, or turn auto-recharge off, in your billing settings.
• If a charge occurs when the balance is insufficient and a top-up cannot be completed, the balance may become negative. A negative balance is recovered from your next top-up, and usage-based features may be paused until the balance is restored.
• Every deduction is itemised in your wallet history with its description and reference, and top-ups are receipted.
• Wallet credit has no cash value, cannot be transferred to another community, and is not refundable except as set out in our Refund Policy or required by law.

Payment Platform Fee

When your community accepts online payments through the Service, the money is paid directly into your community's own payment account (for example, your Stripe account). Open Communities does not receive or hold those funds, and does not deduct its fee from them.

Instead, a payment platform fee is charged for each successful paid online event registration and each fund collection contribution, and is deducted from your community's usage wallet:

• The rate depends on your plan and is shown on our pricing page. Unless your plan states otherwise, it is A$0.15 plus 0.5% of the payment amount.
• Free events, and registrations or contributions of A$0.00, are not charged a platform fee.
• The platform fee is separate from, and in addition to, the card processing fees charged by your payment provider (for example, Stripe), which are deducted by that provider from the payment.
• The platform fee is always charged to your community, deducted from its usage wallet - it is never added to the amount a member or contributor pays at checkout. Members always pay the listed price.
• The platform fee is charged once per payment. It is not reversed if your community later refunds the member, because the payment was processed.

Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis without any warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. Open Communities expressly disclaims all warranties, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that: (a) the Service will function uninterrupted or error-free; (b) defects will be corrected; (c) the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Open Communities shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from your use of or inability to use the Service.

In no event shall Open Communities's total liability to you exceed the greater of one hundred dollars ($100) or the amounts paid by you to Open Communities in the past twelve months.

Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of Australia, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any disputes arising under these Terms will be resolved through binding arbitration in Australia, except that either party may seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify users of material changes by posting the updated Terms on this page with a new effective date. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at admin@opencommunities.com.au or visit https://opencommunities.com.au.