Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the ARBCLUB website, members club, lessons, chat rooms, prize draws, and related services (the "Service"). By creating an account, paying for a membership, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms.

If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or pay for a membership. By using the Service you confirm you are at least 18, that the information you provide is accurate, and that you are legally able to enter into this agreement.

2. Membership and tiers

ARBCLUB offers three tiers — Sapling, Trunk and Canopy — with different access to chat rooms, lessons, prize-draw entries and other features. Tier inclusions and pricing are shown on the pricing page and may change with reasonable notice. Existing paid members will not have their pricing increased without at least 30 days' written notice.

3. Trials, payments and billing

• Trials are card-on-file: you provide payment details up front but are not charged until the trial ends. Cancel any time during the trial and you pay nothing.
• After the trial, your card is charged automatically each month or year (depending on the billing cycle you chose) at the rate shown on the pricing page.
• All amounts are in Australian dollars (AUD) and include GST where applicable.
• Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store full card details.
• If a payment fails, we will retry. If the payment cannot be collected within 14 days, your access may be paused or downgraded to a free state.

4. Cancellation and refunds

• You can cancel at any time from your account or by emailing us. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current paid period — you keep access until then.
• We do not offer pro-rata refunds for partially used months.
• Annual subscriptions cancelled within 14 days of the first charge are refundable on request, provided you have not used premium features beyond what would be reasonable to evaluate the Service.
• Nothing in these Terms limits the consumer guarantees you have under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). See section 12 below.

5. Your account

You are responsible for keeping your login details secure and for everything that happens under your account. Notify us immediately at hello@arbclub.com.au if you suspect unauthorised access.

6. Acceptable use and Code of Conduct

You agree to use the Service in accordance with our Code of Conduct. In particular, you must not:

• harass, threaten, dox, defame or discriminate against any person;
• post spam, recruiting messages outside designated rooms, or links to malware;
• post safety-critical advice (rigging, climbing, felling) without appropriate caveats;
• impersonate any person or business, or post fake reviews;
• scrape, copy or republish member content for commercial use without permission;
• use the Service to break any Australian or local law.

We may remove content, suspend or terminate accounts that breach these rules without refund.

7. Lessons, training and information — important disclaimer

By accessing lessons or any other educational content on the Service, you acknowledge and agree that:

• Tree work, climbing, rigging, chainsaw use, plant operation and storm work are inherently dangerous activities that can cause serious injury or death.
• You are solely responsible for assessing your own competency, your equipment, your environment and the safety of any task you undertake.
• You must comply with all applicable Australian Work Health and Safety legislation, the relevant Australian Standards (including but not limited to AS 4373, AS 2727, AS/NZS 4453), Codes of Practice, your employer's Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS), and any conditions of your insurance.
• You must hold all required licences, tickets and certifications (e.g. AQF / Certificate III or V in Arboriculture, EWP, chainsaw operation, high-risk work licences) before undertaking the relevant work.
• If a lesson, post or comment conflicts with manufacturer instructions, your training, your employer's SWMS or current best practice, you must follow the safer source — not ARBCLUB.
• Knot diagrams, rigging configurations and gear suggestions are illustrative only. Real-world loads, environment, gear condition, anchor points and rescue plans are your responsibility.
• Information may be incomplete, out of date, or contain errors. You must verify anything safety-critical with your trainer, supervisor, manufacturer's documentation, or a Registered Training Organisation.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, ARBCLUB and its operators, contributors and instructors are not liable for any injury, death, property damage, financial loss or other harm arising from reliance on lessons or any other content on the Service. If you need formal training or certification, enrol with a Registered Training Organisation. The national register is at training.gov.au.

8. User-generated content

You retain ownership of the photos, posts, comments and other content you submit ("Your Content"). By posting, you grant ARBCLUB a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to host, display, distribute, reproduce and adapt Your Content within the Service and for promotion of the Service (including sharing screenshots on our social channels with your handle visible). You can withdraw this licence by removing the content; copies may persist in backups for a reasonable period.

You must own or have permission to post anything you submit, and you indemnify us against any claim that Your Content infringes a third party's rights.

9. Hiring Yard and member-to-member dealings

The Hiring Yard and any other member-to-member feature is a noticeboard only. ARBCLUB is not a party to any contract, employment relationship, hire, sub-contract or commercial arrangement that arises between members. We do not vet members, verify qualifications, check references, or guarantee work quality, payment, or insurance status. You deal with other members at your own risk and must do your own due diligence (qualifications, insurance, contract terms, payment).

10. Prize draws

Monthly prize draws are governed by the separate Draw Terms & Conditions, which form part of these Terms.

11. Intellectual property

The ARBCLUB name, logo, branding, lesson copy, illustrations and all other materials we provide (the "ARBCLUB Materials") are owned by ARBCLUB and protected by copyright and trade-mark law. You receive a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use them for your own member experience. You must not republish, resell or otherwise commercially exploit ARBCLUB Materials without our written permission.

12. Australian Consumer Law and warranties

Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. For major failures, you are entitled to a refund or to cancel, and to compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the services remedied if they are not of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.

To the extent permitted by law, all other warranties, conditions or representations (express or implied) are excluded. The Service is provided "as is" and we do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that defects will be corrected.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, ARBCLUB's total liability to you for any claim arising out of or in connection with the Service (whether in contract, tort, statute or otherwise) is limited, at our option, to:

• resupplying the relevant part of the Service; or
• refunding the amount you paid for the Service in the 12 months preceding the claim.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive loss, including loss of profit, revenue, data, business opportunity, or goodwill.

Nothing in this section limits or excludes liability that cannot be limited or excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.

14. Indemnity

You indemnify ARBCLUB against all claims, losses, damages and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of:

• your breach of these Terms or the Code of Conduct;
• Your Content;
• your dealings with other members (including via the Hiring Yard); or
• your reliance on lessons or other educational content in breach of section 7.

15. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, without refund, if you breach these Terms, the Code of Conduct, or the Draw T&Cs, or if continuing to provide the Service to you would expose us or other members to legal or safety risk. You may close your account at any time.

16. Changes to the Service or Terms

We may change the Service, including features, tiers, room structure, and pricing, with reasonable notice. We may update these Terms; material changes will be notified by email and on the website at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

17. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of Queensland, Australia. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Queensland and the federal courts of Australia. Before commencing legal proceedings, both parties agree to first attempt to resolve the dispute by good-faith discussion, and (if unresolved within 30 days) by mediation through a mutually agreed mediator.

18. General

• Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Code of Conduct and the Draw T&Cs form the entire agreement between you and ARBCLUB.
• Severability. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remain in force.
• No waiver. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.
• Assignment. You cannot assign your account. We may assign these Terms to a related body or successor.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms: hello@arbclub.com.au or via our contact page.