PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE ENGAGING OUR SERVICES

Welcome to our website. These Terms and Conditions of Use (Terms) apply to all Clients using this website. We may modify and update these Terms at any time, without notice. You need to ensure you review the Terms from time to time. In using our website and Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms as well as any and all general terms and Privacy Policy posted on our website from time to time.

Definitions

• “Claimant” means any person or entity that may be referred to us by a Client
• “Client” means an individual or entity that engages our Services
• “Confidential Information” means any information not in the public domain and includes but is not limited to any information which would be considered personal, or health information by any legislation or regulation in Australia
• “Fee” means the fee payable by the Client for any Services
• “the website” means sog.net.au
• “Services” means the booking and confirmation of medical specialists appointments and consultations, preparation of medical reports, assistance for obtaining expert services and all associated health management services offered from time to time by SOG
• “SOG” means the partnership Specialist Opinion Group
• “Specialist” means any doctor or expert health care provider who is engaged to provide the medical assessment and other services through our Services
• “We”, “our” and “us” means sog.net.au and Specialist Opinion Group, its partners, officers, employees, affiliates and agents
• “You”, Client” means the individual, business, firm, group engaging our Services and by doing so, agree to these Terms

 

Our Services

We take care and provide all our Services in a professional manner and in accordance with generally accepted industry practice and standards. We ensure we conduct our Services with the utmost care and attention and, in particular, we respect the sensitivity required for the confidential nature of dealing with any Claimant information.

We are in no way affiliated with any specific Specialist beyond providing a third party service to facilitate communications, appointments, assessments and reports between Claimants, Clients and Specialists. We do not make any representations nor are we involved in, responsible or liable for any reports, assessments, referrals, advice or anything beyond making the Services accessible.

You, as our Client, agree at all times, to act honestly and with integrity in relation to your use of the Services. This includes engaging in and promoting honest and ethical conduct, including the ethical handling of personal information, sensitive health information and actual or apparent conflicts of interest between personal and professional relationships. You agree not to make promises or commitments that are not intended or unable to be honoured and no false or misleading statements, which includes but is not limited to statements which are misleading by omission.

Registration for our Website Services

We ask that you register in advance in order to access and use the secure Services on our website and/or any associated services. You can also telephone us to use our Services at any time.

To be eligible to register and to view Specialists and appointments using our website Services, you agree that the information you are providing on your registration profile, is genuine, true, accurate and up to date.

We can remove your profile and block your access to the website at any time in our sole discretion, including but not limited to if we have reason to believe you are breaching these Terms or not using the Services in good faith, for the purposes intended. If we have any reason to believe you are involved in illegal conduct, behaviour, false or misleading activities, immoral violations or any other conduct which may be offensive, we may report you to the relevant authorities.

 

Agreement for Use of Our Services

You agree and warrant that you:

• Use Professional Conduct: will at all times conduct yourself in a professional and ethical manner when using the Services;
• Ensure No Personal Benefit: will manage relationships and communication where you have or may have the potential to obtain any personal benefit from the relationship in a legal and professional manner;
• Manage Disputes: will take up any issue, dispute or litigation with the individual(s) directly and we will, in no way, be involved. You agree to notify us of all disputes immediately upon becoming aware; and
• Manage Litigation: will take over any litigation that may result either directly or indirectly from your communications and use of the Services. You agree and undertake to indemnify us and keep us at all times fully indemnified from and against any claims, demands, costs damages or awards whatsoever arising directly or indirectly as a result of your use of the Services.

 

General

You acknowledge and agree:

• We are a facilitator only for the purposes of permitting Clients to access and use our Services either directly or via the website. At no time do we guarantee, endorse or are responsible for any advice, information, report or otherwise that you or the Claimant may receive at any time;
• We endeavour at all times to ensure we provide error-free, accurate, professional Services but you understand and agree that any Services we provide are at least partially reliant on information you, the Claimant and any Specialist provide from time to time. For this reason, we cannot be responsible for anything related to any report, assessment or advice including but not limited to any incorrect, incomplete, fraudulent or otherwise misleading information and which may or may not lead to any conclusion by any third party;
• You warrant you have obtained the required and relevant approval and consent of the Claimant in relation to provision of the Services including but not limited to providing any report and personal information of the Claimant to a person nominated by you;
• We do try to have our website services available at all times but can make no warranty that the website services will be available on an uninterrupted, secure or error-free basis. We will use our best endeavors to ensure the website is always available and virus free but from time-to-time, and in some instances, this may not be the case as it may be out of our immediate control. We will notify you where possible, if the website becomes unavailable for any lengthy and unusual time period;
• The website uses third party vendors and hosting partners to provide the necessary software, hardware, service and storage; and
• You will not transmit any viruses, malware, worms, etc. of any kind and that you will not upload, post, host or transmit unsolicited material or messages to the website.

 

Payment

Where the Claimant is not able or does not provide reasonable assistance to enable us to provide the Services, you are still liable to pay any Fees related to the Services.

All Fees must be paid within the date indicated on the invoice. In the event of any late, overdue or unpaid invoice amounts, they will incur interest at a rate determined in accordance with the Penalty Interest Rates Act 1983.

 

Appointment Cancellation

To avoid a late cancellation fee, please allow more than two working days’ prior to the appointment date when cancelling.

Any cancellation which is unsuccessful due to timing of cancellation notification, which has not been notified to us or is otherwise outstanding will incur the applicable late cancellation fee charges.

Please contact our office for any clarification of our cancellation policies.

 

Termination of Profile

You may terminate your registration profile at any time.

When you delete your profile, all of your content, material and links will be deleted and you will not be able to retrieve these at any time. We may retain your profile data in a securely stored environment for a period not longer than the legislated requirement in the event we are required or compelled by any regulatory authority or court to produce it but we will not release it for any other purpose. All information will be automatically and securely destroyed after this period.

WE MAY TERMINATE YOUR PROFILE AT ANY TIME: We have the right to terminate your profile and use of our Services for any reason, at any time. You agree that we may, in our sole discretion, terminate or suspend your access to the website with or without notice and for any reason, including, without limitation, breach of these Terms. Any suspected fraudulent, abusive or illegal activity may be grounds for terminating your relationship and may be referred to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Upon termination, you acknowledge and agree we may immediately deactivate or delete your account, profile and all related information and

files. We shall not be liable to you, the Claimant or any third party for claims or damages arising out of any termination or suspension or any other actions taken by us in connection with such termination or suspension.

 

Modification of Website and Content

We reserve the right at any time and from time to time to remove, delete, alter or amend any part of the website. We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification when it is required.

 

Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest

You agree not to disclose any Confidential Information to any person except your employees or associates that have signed a written confidentiality agreement with similar or more restrictive obligations as set out in this clause. In addition, you have made them aware of the duty of confidentiality and to only disclose Confidential Information necessary for authorised use and for the sole purpose of assisting you and as agreed prior between yourself and the Claimant or Specialist who may have provided this to you.

You undertake to ensure that other persons do not gain access to the Confidential Information other than as permitted under this clause. You may only disclose the Confidential Information (to the extent reasonably necessary) to your legal advisors in relation to your rights and obligations under these terms or where such disclosure is required by regulation or law provided you have first notified the relevant parties affected.

You acknowledge that due to the unique nature of the Services and Confidential Information, any breach by you under the terms of the confidentiality or conflicts requirements under this clause would result in irreparable harm to us and our service providers for which there may be

no adequate remedy. Any breach or suspected breach by you, your employees, partners or as a result of your actions entitles the affected party to injunctive relief, other equitable relief and whatever remedies available at law.

 

Privacy

We comply at all times with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) which regulates how personal information is handled including all health details which are considered sensitive information. We only collect information required to provide our Services and we keep this information in secure encrypted servers or, where provided physically, in secure safe storage facilities.

We will not disclose any personal information without consent unless required due to a medical emergency, injury, health risk or similar and we will only do so to a qualified professional who is under the same duty of confidentiality.

For details of how we collect and manage private information, please refer to our separate Privacy Policy.

 

Liability

You agree and acknowledge that we are not liable for any direct, indirect, consequential or incidental loss or damage which may result from your use of the Services or our website. You acknowledge and agree that we are a facilitator only and are not in any way responsible for the conduct of any third party provider involved in the delivery of services or products in response to your request for Services. In particular, we are in no way liable for reliance on, or for the results of any reports, assessments, outcomes or advice of any our Specialists or indirectly related to the use of our Services.

Our liability is governed by the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), including any consumer guarantees provided by the ACL that cannot be excluded or modified. All other conditions and warranties which may be implied by custom or statute are expressly excluded by these Terms.

In the event of any successful claim, our liability is limited to the price paid by the Client for our Services or the re-supply of the Services as determined by us in our sole discretion.

Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of these Terms, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind us in any respect whatsoever. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY All custom graphics, icons, logos and service names are registered trademarks, copyright, trade or service marks of SOG.

All other trademarks or service marks within this website are the property of their respective owners. Nothing in these Terms grants you any right to use any trademark, service mark, logo, and/or our name or any of our Specialists.

You are solely responsible for obtaining written permission before reusing any copyrighted material that is available on this website. Any unauthorized use of the materials appearing on this website may violate copyright, trademark and other applicable laws and could result in criminal or civil penalties.

 

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of New South Wales which are in force from time to time and both you and we agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of New South Wales for determining any dispute concerning these Terms.