Customer Terms of Service

1. About JobNest.au and these terms

JobNest.au is an online marketplace that connects customers who need home services with independent service providers ("Providers"). JobNest.au is a platform facilitator — it is not a party to the contract for services between you and the Provider, and does not employ, control, or supervise Providers.

These terms govern your use of JobNest.au as a customer. By posting a job, accepting a quote, booking a service, or otherwise using the platform, you agree to these terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

2. Your account

You can browse the platform and start a job posting without an account. To submit a job, accept a quote, or book a service, you need a JobNest.au account. You agree to provide accurate information, keep your login secure, and be responsible for all activity on your account. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and book services.

3. Posting jobs

You can post a job describing the service you need, including the category, location (suburb and postcode), preferred date and time, budget, and any safety hazards or access information. You agree to:

• Provide honest, accurate, and complete job descriptions.
• Disclose any known safety hazards (e.g. pets, electrical, chemicals, asbestos, structural issues, difficult access, working at heights).
• Not post jobs that are illegal, dangerous, or for services outside the scope of the platform.
• Not impersonate another person or misrepresent a property you do not have authority to list.

Providers may then send you quotes. You are under no obligation to accept any quote.

4. Quotes and quote expiry

Providers send quotes that include a price, proposed date and time, what is included and excluded, and a validity period. Quotes may expire — an expired quote cannot be accepted. The price and terms in a quote are set by the Provider, not by JobNest.au. JobNest.au does not guarantee the quality, accuracy, or completeness of any quote.

5. Booking and payments

When you accept a quote, a booking is created. Payment is processed securely through Stripe, our PCI-compliant payment provider. JobNest.au does not store your card details. The agreed amount, platform fee, and GST (where applicable) are shown before you pay. You will be redirected to Stripe's hosted checkout to complete payment.

If you do not return from checkout, payment is still confirmed by Stripe via a secure webhook, so your booking is never lost. You will receive a confirmation notification once payment is confirmed.

6. Fees and GST

JobNest.au charges a platform commission on completed, paid bookings. The default commission is an 8% surcharge added to the agreed quote price — this means the customer total is the quote price plus the platform fee. The commission rate and model (surcharge or provider deduction) are configurable and may vary by service category. You will always see the exact fee and total before you pay.

GST (currently 10%) is applied where required by Australian tax law. Whether GST is included in displayed prices, and who issues the tax invoice (the Provider or JobNest.au), is configurable and subject to confirmation by a tax professional. The GST and tax invoice treatment is not finalised and must be confirmed before launch.

7. Cancellations and refunds

You may request a cancellation through the platform at any time. The cancellation process works as follows:

• Unpaid bookings: cancelled immediately. No payment was taken, so no refund is due.
• Paid bookings: your cancellation request is reviewed by JobNest.au. If approved, a refund is processed back to your original payment method through Stripe. The current default refund policy is a full refund of the amount paid, but this is configurable and may change.

Refunds are processed by JobNest.au administrators — they are not automatic. You will be notified when your refund is processed. The time for the refund to appear in your account depends on your bank and Stripe.

The specific cancellation penalty rules (e.g. time-based partial refunds, no-show penalties) are not yet finalised and require legal and commercial confirmation before launch.

8. Rescheduling

If you or the Provider need to change the date or time of a confirmed booking, you can propose a reschedule through the platform. A reschedule is not confirmed until the other party agrees. Rescheduling does not change the agreed price or create a new charge.

9. Inspections

A Provider may request an inspection before finalising a quote — for example, to assess the scope of work. You can approve or decline an inspection request. Approving an inspection schedules a visit; it does not create a booking or a charge. The inspection fee (if any) is shown to you before you approve. Declining an inspection does not incur a charge.

10. Extra charges

During a job, a Provider may request an extra charge for work or materials not covered by the original quote — for example, additional parts or unforeseen work. You must explicitly approve or reject each extra charge request. No extra charge is created automatically. An approved extra charge is paid through a separate Stripe checkout. The original quote and booking price are never changed by an extra charge — extras are layered on top and shown separately.

11. Disputes

If you have a concern about the quality, completeness, safety, or cost of work, you can raise a dispute through the platform. Dispute types include poor workmanship, incomplete work, property damage, no-show, price disagreement, unauthorised extra charge, payment issues, cancellation disagreements, safety issues, and misleading information.

When you open a dispute, an independent dispute record is created — it does not alter the original job, booking, quote, or payment records. JobNest.au may facilitate resolution but is not a party to the service contract and does not determine the outcome. Dispute outcomes depend on the evidence provided by both parties. JobNest.au administrators may propose a resolution, including a partial or full refund where appropriate.

You may attach evidence (photos and notes) to support your dispute. Raising a dispute does not guarantee a refund.

12. Reviews

After a job is completed, you can leave a review and rating for the Provider. Reviews must be honest and based on genuine experience. JobNest.au may moderate or remove reviews that are false, abusive, unrelated to an actual job, or otherwise in breach of these terms. You cannot delete a review once submitted, but you may request moderation if a review contains false information.

13. Local Deals

Providers may offer fixed-price Local Deals at a discounted rate. Deal prices are enforced server-side — the price you see is the price you pay, and it cannot be changed at quoting, booking, or checkout. Deal quantities are limited; if a deal is sold out, it can no longer be booked. Deal terms and conditions are shown on the deal page. A deal-linked job is created and quoted at the fixed deal price.

14. Deal Alerts

You can set up Deal Alerts to be notified when a matching Local Deal becomes available in your area. Deal Alert matching is based on exact suburb or postcode — radius-based matching is not currently supported. You can pause, edit, or delete your Deal Alerts at any time. Marketing notifications (including Deal Alerts) can be opted out of, but operational notifications (job, quote, booking, payment updates) are always sent.

15. Messaging

You can message Providers through the platform's in-job messaging system. Messages are visible to you, the Provider, and JobNest.au administrators. Messages may be forwarded to JobNest.au's support inbox if reported. You can report a message that is abusive, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate. JobNest.au may review and moderate reported messages.

Your contact details (mobile, email, address) are shared with the Provider only after a quote or booking relationship exists. Before that, Providers can only see your first name and the job details (not your contact information).

16. Off-platform payments

For your protection, payments should be made through JobNest.au. Paying a Provider outside the platform means you lose JobNest.au's payment protection, dispute facilitation, and refund support. JobNest.au is not liable for off-platform transactions and cannot assist with disputes or refunds for payments made outside the platform.

17. Prohibited conduct

You must not:

• Post false, misleading, or fraudulent job descriptions.
• Request or arrange off-platform payments to bypass the platform.
• Harass, threaten, or abuse Providers or JobNest.au staff.
• Post reviews that are false, paid, retaliatory, or unrelated to a genuine job.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the platform or another user's data.
• Use the platform for any illegal or unlawful purpose.

18. Unsafe work

You must disclose all known safety hazards when posting a job. If you become aware of a hazard after posting, you must update the job or notify the Provider before work begins. You are responsible for providing safe access to the property. If a Provider reports a job as unsafe, JobNest.au may review the job and take action, including cancellation. JobNest.au cannot guarantee the safety of any work performed — you are responsible for your own safety and property.

19. Provider independence

Providers are independent contractors, not employees or agents of JobNest.au. JobNest.au does not perform the services, does not guarantee the quality or completion of any work, and is not responsible for the acts or omissions of Providers. The contract for services is between you and the Provider. JobNest.au facilitates the connection, payment, and dispute process only.

20. Provider verification

Providers may display a "Verified" badge after JobNest.au has reviewed their compliance documents (licences, insurance, qualifications). Verification indicates that documents have been reviewed at a point in time — it does not guarantee ongoing compliance, the quality of work, or insurance coverage at the time of service. You should independently assess any Provider before booking. For regulated services (e.g. pest control, electrical, plumbing), JobNest.au requires verification before the Provider can quote, but this does not replace your own due diligence.

21. Account suspension and deletion

JobNest.au may suspend or terminate your account if you breach these terms, engage in prohibited conduct, or for any other lawful reason. You can delete your account at any time through your account settings. Account deletion is permanent — your user account, login, deal alerts, demand alerts, email preferences, and in-app notifications are deleted. However, transaction records (jobs, bookings, payments, refunds, disputes, reviews, and messages) are retained for legal, tax, and audit purposes and are not deleted.

22. Liability

To the extent permitted by Australian law, JobNest.au's liability is limited. JobNest.au facilitates connections between customers and Providers but is not a party to the service contract. JobNest.au is not liable for the acts or omissions of Providers, the quality of work performed, or any loss or damage arising from a service. JobNest.au's aggregate liability for any claim arising from your use of the platform is limited to the amount of commission JobNest.au earned on the relevant booking.

Nothing in these terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any rights or remedies available to you under the Australian Consumer Law or other applicable laws that cannot be excluded.

23. Australian Consumer Law

These terms are subject to the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and the consumer guarantees it provides. Nothing in these terms is intended to exclude, restrict, or modify any non-excludable consumer guarantees. Where a Provider supplies services to a consumer, the Provider (not JobNest.au) is responsible for complying with the consumer guarantees that apply to the supply of those services. The allocation of consumer guarantee responsibility between JobNest.au and Providers requires confirmation by an Australian lawyer.

24. Intellectual property

JobNest.au owns the platform, its branding, and its content. You retain ownership of the content you post (job descriptions, photos, reviews). By posting content, you grant JobNest.au a non-exclusive licence to use, display, and process that content for the purpose of operating the platform. You must not copy, reproduce, or misuse JobNest.au's branding or content without permission.

25. Changes to these terms

JobNest.au may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to you (e.g. by email or in-app notification). Continued use of the platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. The version and date shown at the top of this document indicate the current version.

26. Termination

You can stop using the platform at any time. JobNest.au may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these terms. Termination does not affect transactions already in progress or rights and obligations that have already accrued.

27. Complaints and contact

If you have a complaint, please contact us at support@jobnest.au. We will acknowledge your complaint and respond as soon as practicable. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may seek alternative dispute resolution or contact the relevant consumer protection authority in your state or territory.

28. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of Australia. The parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Australia. The specific governing law (e.g. Queensland, New South Wales) and dispute resolution forum require confirmation by an Australian lawyer.

29. Future features — lead/referral model

JobNest.au may, in the future, introduce a paid lead or referral model where customer enquiries could be referred to businesses outside the JobNest.au marketplace. This is not currently part of the platform. If introduced, it would require separate legal and privacy review, including consideration of:

• Customer consent and disclosure before any referral occurs.
• Privacy implications of sharing customer information with external businesses.
• Whether such sharing constitutes selling personal information under the Privacy Act.
• Compliance with the Australian Privacy Principles, particularly APP 6 (use and disclosure) and APP 8 (cross-border disclosure).

Until such a model is formally introduced, reviewed, and disclosed, JobNest.au does not sell customer information or refer customer enquiries to external businesses.

ITEMS FOR AUSTRALIAN LEGAL REVIEW

The following provisions require confirmation by a qualified Australian lawyer before launch:

• Australian Consumer Law: Confirm the consumer guarantee allocation between JobNest.au (platform) and Providers (service suppliers) is correct and enforceable.
• Liability limitations: Confirm the liability cap (commission earned on the booking) is enforceable and does not exclude non-excludable consumer guarantees.
• Consumer guarantees: Confirm whether JobNest.au's "platform facilitator, not party to the service contract" position is supported by current law and case precedent for online marketplaces.
• Provider/customer relationship: Confirm the independent contractor framing and that no employment, agency, or partnership relationship is created.
• Cancellation/refund rules: Confirm the default full-refund policy and whether time-based or penalty-based cancellation rules should be introduced for compliance and fairness.
• GST treatment: Confirm who should issue tax invoices (Provider or JobNest.au), whether GST is correctly included in displayed prices, and SERR/TPAR reporting obligations. This must be confirmed by a registered tax agent or accountant.
• Disputes: Confirm the dispute facilitation process is fair, and whether any binding dispute resolution mechanism is required.
• Reviews: Confirm the moderation policy and whether review removal could raise defamation or misleading conduct concerns.
• Account deletion: Confirm the data retention/deletion balance complies with the Privacy Act and APP 11 (security of personal information).
• Lead/referral model: If introduced, obtain separate legal and privacy advice before implementation.
• Governing law and jurisdiction: Confirm the appropriate state/territory and dispute resolution forum.
• Changes to terms: Confirm the notice and acceptance mechanism for material changes complies with consumer law.