Terms of Service
The terms on which The Charter Society Pty Ltd coordinates charters and provides this website.
1. These terms
These terms of service govern your use of this website and the charter coordination services provided by The Charter Society Pty Ltd (ABN 98 701 345 164, ACN 701 345 164) ("we", "us", "our"). By using this website, requesting a quote or confirming a booking, you agree to these terms.
Where we issue a written charter confirmation, that confirmation and these terms together form the agreement between us. If there is any inconsistency, the charter confirmation prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.
2. Definitions
- Charter — a vessel hire, event or transfer arrangement coordinated by us.
- Client — the person or organisation named as responsible for the charter in the confirmation.
- Operator — the licensed commercial vessel operator, caterer, transfer provider or other supplier engaged for the charter.
- Confirmation — the written document we issue setting out the vessel, date, boarding and departure times, inclusions, price and cancellation terms.
3. Our role
We are a charter coordinator. We do not own or crew vessels. We identify suitable operators, negotiate and arrange the booking on your instructions, prepare the itinerary and run sheet, and coordinate the charter on the day.
The vessel, catering and transfer services themselves are supplied by the operator, under the operator's own terms and conditions and subject to the operator's licences and safety obligations. We will make the operator's material terms known to you before you commit to a booking. We are responsible for our own coordination services; we are not the supplier of the operator's services.
4. Quotes and bookings
Quotes are based on the brief you give us and are valid for the period stated in the quote. Availability, berths and pricing are not held until a booking is confirmed in writing and any required deposit is received. Vessel availability can change while a quote is being considered.
We may decline or withdraw from an enquiry, including where a requested itinerary cannot be run safely or lawfully, or where an operator declines the booking.
5. Prices and payment
Prices are quoted in Australian dollars and include GST unless stated otherwise. The confirmation sets out the deposit, the balance and when each is due. Charter services are supplied subject to payment being received in accordance with that schedule.
Additional charges may apply for extensions beyond the booked hours, additional guests, changes to catering, damage or excessive cleaning, or costs charged to us by the operator as a result of your instructions. Where we can foresee such a charge, we will tell you before it is incurred.
6. Changes and cancellations
Requests to change a date, vessel, itinerary or guest numbers must be made in writing. We will pass the request to the operator, but a change is only effective when we confirm it in writing. Changes may affect the price.
Cancellation charges are set out in the confirmation and generally reflect the operator's own cancellation scale, which typically increases as the charter date approaches. Our coordination fee is earned when the booking is confirmed and is not refundable once the charter has been arranged, except where required by law.
Where an operator cancels a charter — including for weather, sea conditions, mechanical or safety reasons, or on the master's decision — we will work with you to secure an alternative vessel or date, or arrange a refund of amounts recoverable from the operator. Weather and safety decisions rest with the master of the vessel and are not within our control.
7. Your responsibilities
- Give us accurate guest numbers, timings and any dietary, medical or accessibility requirements that affect the charter.
- Make sure your guests board at the stated time — vessels operate to berth allocations and cannot always wait.
- Ensure that you and your guests follow the lawful directions of the master and crew at all times.
- Accept responsibility for damage to the vessel or its equipment caused by you or your guests, and for any charges the operator makes as a result.
- Comply with the operator's policies on responsible service of alcohol, smoking, capacity limits and behaviour.
The master may refuse boarding to, or disembark, any person whose conduct is unsafe or unlawful. No refund is payable in those circumstances.
8. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law
Consumer guarantees are not excluded
Our services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). For major failures with the service, you are entitled to cancel your service contract and to a refund for the unused portion, or to compensation for its reduced value. You are also entitled to be compensated for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. If the failure does not amount to a major failure, you are entitled to have problems with the service rectified in a reasonable time and, if this is not done, to cancel your contract and obtain a refund for the unused portion of the contract.
Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts or modifies any guarantee, right or remedy you have under the Australian Consumer Law or any other law that cannot lawfully be excluded, restricted or modified.
9. Limitation of liability
Subject to clause 8, and to the extent permitted by law:
- our liability for a failure to comply with a consumer guarantee (other than a guarantee under sections 51 to 53 of the Australian Consumer Law) is limited, at our option, to resupplying the services or paying the cost of having them resupplied;
- we are not liable for the acts, omissions, delays or cancellations of an operator or other third-party supplier, beyond our obligation to coordinate the charter with reasonable care and skill;
- we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, loss of profit, loss of opportunity or loss of anticipated savings; and
- our total aggregate liability arising out of a charter is limited to the coordination fees paid to us for that charter.
You should hold your own insurance for event, travel and personal risks. We recommend that organisations chartering for corporate events confirm their own public liability cover.
10. Indemnity
To the extent permitted by law, you indemnify us against claims, losses and costs we reasonably incur arising from your breach of these terms, from damage caused by you or your guests, or from information you give us that is inaccurate or incomplete. This indemnity does not apply to loss caused by our own negligence or breach.
11. Intellectual property
All content on this website — text, layout, stylesheets, drawings and marks, including the name The Charter Society — is owned by or licensed to The Charter Society Pty Ltd and is protected under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). You may view and print pages for your own use in connection with a charter enquiry. You may not reproduce, republish, adapt or commercially exploit any part of this website without our written permission.
Itineraries, run sheets and quotes we prepare for you remain our intellectual property and are provided for the purpose of your charter only.
12. This website
We take reasonable care to keep this website accurate and available, but we do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted or error free, or that descriptions of services are complete for every circumstance. Nothing on this website is an offer capable of acceptance; a charter exists only once we issue a written confirmation.
13. Privacy
Personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
14. Suspension and termination
We may suspend or terminate a booking, or our dealings with you, where payment is not made by the due date, where instructions would require unsafe or unlawful conduct, or where you materially breach these terms and do not remedy the breach within a reasonable time of being asked to. You may terminate a booking at any time in accordance with clause 6. Clauses 9, 10, 11 and 15 survive termination.
15. Force majeure
Neither party is liable for a failure or delay in performing its obligations caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including severe weather, port or waterway closures, government directions, industrial action or utility failures. Where such an event prevents a charter, we will work with the operator to reschedule or to recover what can reasonably be recovered on your behalf.
16. General
If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, it is severed and the remaining provisions continue in force. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of it. You may not assign your rights under a charter confirmation without our written consent.
17. Governing law
These terms and any charter we coordinate are governed by the laws of the State of Victoria, Australia. You and we submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria and the courts competent to hear appeals from them.
18. Contact
Questions about these terms should be sent to [email protected], addressed to The Charter Society Pty Ltd, Docklands, Melbourne VIC 3008, Australia.
Clear on the terms?
Send the brief and we will come back with a written quote that reflects them.