Consulting Service Terms

We are Plan Proofing and we’re in your corner when you build your home to help reduce the overwhelm and make the process exciting! We look forward to making plans with you!

We means Plan Proofing, or Bicker Design Pty Ltd trading as Plan Proofing ABN 52 605 198 427
You, or your means the people or businesses who buy Services from us (Clients) or visit our Site (Visitors).

1. Background details

These Terms are our house rules

This document sets out how we deliver our Site and our Services to you (Terms).
These Terms are our ‘house rules’ and they apply when you visit our Site or buy our Services.
Because they apply to everyone using our Site or buying our Services, our aim is to make them easy to understand and fair.
If you don’t agree to our Terms, that’s okay, but you cannot access or use our Site or Services.

Our agreement with you

Our agreement with you is set out in:

a Project Brief,
these Consulting Service Terms, and
our Privacy Policy and other policies.

Together, these make up our agreement with you about how we will work together.

If there is conflict between the various parts of our agreement with you, the document listed higher in the above list takes priority to the extent of any inconsistency.

2. Service inclusions

What’s included with our Services?

We use reasonable care and skill to provide you the Services outlined on the Services Page and in your confirmed Project Brief.

We design our Services to fit your priorities

When we work with you, there’s no ‘one size fits all’.

When we discuss your Project with you, we:
confirm your priorities, and
tailor our Services to spend time on the priorities you tell us about.
Depending on the particular characteristics of your Project and your priorities, we work our way through your priorities to make the most of the Service inclusions you’ve selected.

3. Out of scope work

We do lots of great things to help make your house a home, but we don’t do it all.

What isn’t included in these Services?

Things we don’t do

You’ll need your Build Team to handle the following:

Scaled drawings or architectural drawing changes
Council regulations and permits
Engineering or building certificates
Electrical or lighting plans
Sourcing or ordering fixtures, fittings, equipment, furniture, art, or accessories

Things that aren’t included

The following items are charged as extras. We’ll let you know the costs before agreeing to complete the work.

Work outside our stated Office Hours.
Travel to and from your premises.
Add on Services outside standard inclusions (such as extra Consultation hours).

4. Our Office Hours

Our usual Office hours are Mon to Wed, 9am – 4pm (excluding Public Holidays in Victoria).

If you have a Project that requires urgent work or Services outside these Office Hours, we may charge a premium rate.
We’ll let you know the costs beforehand.

5. Your obligations

What you’ll need to have in place

You’re responsible for doing the following:

Complete the Project Questionnaire & send relevant attachments at least 7 days before your Project Booking, including:
digital scaled plans for your premises, and
photos and measurements for existing furniture pieces or features you want to incorporate.
Giving us clear, accurate, timely information and accurate measurements (if you want a clear, timely, accurate concept!)
Setting aside time to discuss details with us
Creating your Build Team, who will help you with the logistics and details of implementing our ideas.

You’ll need to talk with your Build Team

You are responsible to seek permission from the owner of your plans for Plan Proofing to mark up the plans for the purpose of communication.

For example, a builder, draftsperson or architect may own your plans so you will need to gain permission prior so we’re able to markup and communicate our recommended amendments.

1. Paying for Services

Service specific terms might also apply

When you buy products or Services from us, or become our Client, other specific terms may apply as well as these Terms.

For example, service specific terms such as the inclusions for your specific Project.

You’ll pay for our Services upfront

For most of our Services, you pay for them upfront.
You must pay for Services in the amount and frequency set out on the relevant Service Page.
We won’t start working on your Project until you pay (and may stop working if you haven’t paid).
We might update our prices from time to time.

Costs we pass on to you

We may also pass on some expenses to you, which we will invoice you for when they aren’t part of the included in the Project Brief. We’ll let you know what the expenses will be before we incur them.

For example, reasonable travel expenses if you ask us to attend your home or building premises in person.

We’re Aussies, and so are our prices

Prices on our Sites are in Australian dollars unless we say otherwise and include taxes that may apply.

2. Affiliate relationships

We share the love with affiliates we love

We have partnerships with people and companies who offer products and services we love.
Some of the links on our Site are affiliate links.
Some of the Content we create is produced with the support of sponsors
This means we may earn a small commission if you purchase after clicking on affiliate links or buying a product using a particular code.

We aim to be transparent and disclose affiliate links or paid partnerships, so that you can make an informed decision about your purchase.

1. Changing Project details and times

We know sometimes things happen which mean you might need to re-schedule a Project.

We try to be understanding and flexible.
When you book your Project, we set aside that time for you & send you welcome information and other Content to get your Project underway.

Can you re-schedule a Project?

If you need to change a Project time, let us know as soon as you can. This lets us offer bookings to other Clients and try to reschedule your Project.
Change Notice: We book projects in advance, so we need at least 30 days notice via email to re-schedule.
We may charge a reasonable rescheduling fee if you re-schedule a Project without giving us the required Change Notice.
If you need to change a Project after confirming your booking, you’ll need to send us an email with details.
Within five business days, we will get back to you letting you know our availability, any additional Fees for rescheduling, and any other updates to the Services or conditions.

Ending a Project early

If you cancel a Project after we confirm your booking, (or if we end a Project because of your actions, see Termination and suspension), we may charge a reasonable cancellation fee that reflects:
the stage of the Project,
the Services involved,
the work we’ve already completed,
the access we’ve given you to our Content, and
whether or not we are able to book in other clients for the time you reserved.

For example, if you cancel the Project with only 7 days before the Project Booking, we are unlikely to be able to book in other clients and you have already had access to our Content.

No show: If you don’t attend a Consultation without giving us the required Change Notice, we may not be able to provide the full Service to you and / or our Services might not be as impactful.
If you arrive late, Consultations may still end at the scheduled time or count towards the time for us to deliver the Services.

For example, if we book in a call with you to kick off your Project and you are late, we might not be able to get started on your Project. This means your Project might be delayed overall and / or there’ll be less time available to spend on the Project.

2. Delay

What happens if you fail to give instructions?

We are working together with you on your Project and so sometimes there will be actions you need to take or information you need to give us.
If you don’t complete an action or give information within the required time frames, or if you cancel or postpone Consultations, then we may need to pause the Project.
This also means the end date for the Project Period is likely to be delayed.
If this happens, we both agree to do our best to find alternative times to suit both of us for completing the Project.
However, because our calendar books up well in advance, our availability for completing delayed projects may be very limited.
See also, the Changing Project details and times
section of these Terms.

Things outside our reasonable control

Neither you or we are liable to the other for a delay or failure to perform obligations in this Agreement caused by circumstances outside of reasonable control, other than the payment of money.

How to manage Service delays and problems

If a delay happens, we both agree to do our best to find alternative times to suit both of us for completing the Project.
If we become aware of anything likely to create a material delay in or failure to perform any Services, we’ll let you know promptly and keep you up to date on how we plan to work around the problem.

For example, if one of our team becomes unwell and is unable to perform the Services on the specified days, we’ll deliver the Services within a reasonable time from the original booking

1. Owning Intellectual Property (IP)

Your obligations when using our Content

As part of the Services we supply, we may include access to some of our own Content.

We own or licence all Intellectual Property rights in our Content.
Buying our Services or paid Content gives you a limited licence to use that Content for your own personal use.
We don’t guarantee a specific type of Content will be available for a set length of time and some Content is only available on a limited or single-use basis.
Accessing our Site or Content does not grant or transfer you any rights in our Site or Content.

When we create deliverables specifically for you

We create great deliverables… and for you only!

We retain ownership of all rights in all Content we create and we offer you a limited, revocable licence in deliverables we create for you.

For example, if we create a new interior design theme for your home, you have a broad licence to use that theme for your own personal use and we own our framework used to develop it.

We grant you a limited license to make use of our Intellectual Property within our Content to the extent needed for you to use a Service you buy from us.
Unless we give you permission in our agreed Project Brief, you must not copy or create derivative, imitative works of our Content or sell or claim ownership to our Content
In addition to being annoyed with you, if you misuse our content, we may take action to protect our rights without further notice to you.
Unless you get our written consent, you must not:
Sell or re-use our Content;
Re-post our Content in full elsewhere; or
Change, edit, or copy any Content (except if we supply it to you for that purpose);
Breach IP rights connected with our Site or Content, including changing our Content, adding a Resource to another website or creating derivative works from our Content.
If you have questions or want permission to renovate our Content, let’s have a chat!

2. Testimonials + content you give us

We can share details of your Project on our social media and Site

We are proud of our work and know others will love to see the results.
You agree we can display parts of your Project on our Sites to promote our Services and add to our portfolio.
We’ll generally get your okay before we make identifiable details of your Project public.

Testimonials + content you give to us

If you give feedback in a public forum, you give us permission to use that content and related personal information publicly.

For example, we may take a screenshot of a positive Instagram post or story and use that material to promote Plan Proofing.

If you send us private feedback, you give us permission to use that content anonymously on our Sites.
We won’t attach private feedback or Project details to you by name without your okay.
If you give permission and later change your mind, let us know and we’ll make try to remove it.

3. How we handle information

Protecting personal information

We handle personal information you give us in line with our Privacy Policy, available at our Site.
When you buy our Services, you consent to our collection and use of your information in line with these Terms and our Privacy Policy, including for marketing purposes (which you can opt out of at any time).

Protecting Confidential Information

We both agree Confidential Information is commercially sensitive and valuable, so that unauthorised disclosure or use of the other’s Confidential Information could cause significant damage.

Confidential Information can only be used for the purposes set out in these Terms (i.e. the purpose of buying, supplying, or marketing our Services).
Neither of us can use or disclose the other’s Confidential Information for a purpose not allowed under the Terms without express written consent from the other.

1. Results from our Services

Your results depend on many different factors

We cannot guarantee particular personal or business outcomes for buying our Services or visiting our Site and using our Content.

Your ultimate outcomes depend on many different factors including:

Your budget and time constraints to complete your overall Project,
The constraints of gravity and physics (sorry, we can’t make your car smaller to fit your garage)
The skills, attitude, and capabilities of the Build Team and other parties you’ve engaged,
The needs and desires of you and your family, your business, or all of the above!
The council rules and building regulations that apply to you, your industry, your site,
Your ability and willingness to follow and implement our recommendations,
Resources, systems, and help you have available to create assets implement recommendations,
Accuracy and completeness of information you provide us and your other suppliers, and other factors.

2. We use reasonable care + skill

We use reasonable care and skill to deliver Services to you, however you agree that:

We cannot and do not promise our Services or Content will be continuously available or fault free;
If things outside our reasonable control impact on our ability to supply Services to you, you agree we are not responsible for impacts on you as a result; and
We provide our Services and Content in good faith, based on information you provide us, and you are responsible for your use of our Services and Reports.

For example, if you or your team don’t complete tasks assigned on time or misinterpret our report so you need to re-brief an architect and your build is delayed, we’re not responsible for that outcome.

You understand that changes in building and design trends, available supplies, skill levels of your builders and other personnel and other factors might mean our recommendations are no longer accurate or as impactful as intended, despite our best efforts.

3. Paying for losses + limiting liability

Paying us if you cause us loss

To the extent allowed by law, you must pay us for costs we incur caused or contributed to by:

inaccurate or misleading info you give us,
your breach of applicable laws or regulations, or
your use or misuse of Services or our Content.

For example, if you give us house plans to review & other information in a brief, and you get the scale or other details incorrect, we check over that information, but we rely on the details you give us. We’re not responsible for potential outcomes from incorrect details, such as less impactful recommendations for your Project.

Limiting our liability to you

Nothing in these Terms restricts consumer laws that may apply to your purchase of our Services.

To the extent allowed by law, we exclude all liability for claims by you or a third party for all forms of loss or damage, including loss or inaccuracy of data or loss of business profits or revenue.
Unless we cause loss with our negligence or wilful misconduct, we are not responsible for any loss caused by your use of our Services (or any inability to use a Service).
Where we cannot exclude our liability, our total liability to you is limited to us re-supplying the relevant Service to you or, if applicable, paying to you the cost of re-supplying the relevant Services to you.

1. Let us know if you have an issue

Let’s talk to fix any issues

We always aim for happy Clients, so if you have any questions, let us know so we can help fix things!
If a dispute crops up under these Terms, we both agree to act reasonably to resolve it.
If you are a consumer, you have certain rights under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and nothing in these Terms excludes your rights to Consumer Guarantees.

Contact us so we can help

If you have an issue, you’ll need to contact us via email and include details so we can help resolve it.
We confirm we received your complaint within 5 business days and work to investigate and resolve your complaint within 14 days.
If we can’t resolve your issue after this, we will be in touch to set out some proposed next steps.

2. Termination + suspension

We might suspend or end this Agreement

We try to discuss and resolve issues with you first, but may suspend or terminate a Service at once if:

You do not pay us undisputed Fees after we have given you reasonable notice to pay; or
You’re in breach of this Agreement and you can’t fix that breach, or you don’t fix the breach after we give you a reasonable time to fix the breach; or
You fail to give us instructions or complete your obligations within a reasonable time; or
We reasonably consider mutual trust and confidence no longer exist in our relationship with you, or your behaviour is likely to damage our reputation.

When can we suspend or end this Agreement?

Either Client or Plan Proofing can end this Agreement on 30 days written notice to the other.

Reasonable cancellation charges may apply if you end the Agreement during a Project Period with less than 30 days before your Project Booking.

Refunds

We always aim for happy homes and Clients, so if you have concerns, please let us know so we can help!

If we’ve delivered some or all of the Services and / or given you access to Content, then unless we’ve completely underdelivered on what we promised, you generally aren’t entitled to a refund.
If a refund is required by law, we’ll provide that refund. In other situations, we may choose to refund Fees at our discretion.

3. What happens after termination?

If we end or suspend a Project Brief because of your behaviour or breach of the Terms:

You must pay for Services already delivered;
You are generally not entitled to a refund for the Fees. We may decide to refund a portion of Fees already paid, less reasonable costs we incurred for Services delivered and / or administrative costs; and
You are no longer allowed to use our Content included with our Services.

1. The rules for using our Site

Use our Site and Content in line with these Terms

We carefully crafted our Site materials and Content.

We are happy for you to access our Site and Content but only if you use them as set out in these Terms.
We grant you a limited licence to use our Site and Content as set out in these Terms.
Using our Content any other way is not allowed unless we first give you permission in writing.
See also the Intellectual Property
Our Sites are not intended for children under 13.

Our Content and Site isn’t for competitors

We love a bit of healthy competition, but you must not use our Site & Content in a way that competes with our business or breaches our IP rights.

If you want to collaborate with us or license our Content for your own use, then let’s have a chat!

We don’t tolerate bad behaviour on our Sites

When you use our Site and Content, you must not do (or try to do) anything unlawful or which we reasonably think is inappropriate or might damage our reputation.

You must not modify our Site, or send viruses or anything to damage or interfere with our Site.
Engaging in this kind of bad behaviour may result in us reporting you to relevant authorities and/or immediately removing your access to our Site.

Closing down or excluding you from our Site

We may, at any time and without notice, close our Site or parts of it or exclude anyone from our Site.

This will generally be because they engaged in the bad behaviour mentioned above.
In other situations, we try to give you reasonable notice of changes to your Site access.
We’re not responsible for any loss or damage you suffer in connection with our decision to exclude you from the Site or close down the Site.

Our Site and Content may not be up to date

We can’t promise to keep our Site updated (especially if we’re deep in a renovation project!), so we’re not responsible if our Site or Content is inaccurate.

We have systems to store & manage information, but in general the internet & our Sites may not be 100% secure.

1. Making changes

Changing our agreed Project Brief with you

Once we have an agreed Project Brief with you, we both must agree to any future changes in writing.

Changing these Terms

We may change our Terms from time to time.
When we do change these Terms, the changes take effect on and from the day we put the updated Terms on our Site or otherwise notify you.

Changes to our Site and Services

From time to time, we update pricing and descriptions on our Site.

We might need to refund or cancel your online orders if our Site or Services are incorrect.
We try to do this in a reasonable time of realising.

2. General agreement details

Passwords

If we give you a username and password to access Site features or Content, you must keep them confidential.

You are responsible for unauthorised us or misuse of your passwords, our Site, and our Content.

Transferring this Agreement

We may assign, subcontract, or transfer some or all our rights or obligations under this Agreement without notice to you. You cannot assign, subcontract, or transfer your rights or obligations under this Agreement without our consent.

Survival

Some rights and obligations under our agreement with you remain in force after these Terms expire or end. These include the rights and obligations under the following sections: Paying for Services, Owning Intellectual Property (IP), Paying for losses + limiting liability,Actions after termination or suspension.

Other general details

Invalid parts severed: If a court of law decides one or more parts of our Agreement with you is invalid, only those parts are severed from the Agreement and other parts remain in full force and effect.
No waiver: Delay or failure to exercise rights or a partial exercise of rights is not a waiver of rights.
Force Majeure: Neither party is liable for performance delays or for non-performance due to causes beyond its reasonable control, except for payment obligations.
Full agreement: This agreement outlines the full agreement between us for Services we supply you.
Governing law: This agreement is governed by the laws in force in Victoria, and the parties agree to submit to that jurisdiction.

3. Dictionary

Capitalised words have the following meanings

Build Team means your third party suppliers that are assisting you with your Project and may include the following building professionals: architect, builder, draftsperson, excavator, electrician, plumber, gasfitter, interior designer, concreter, carpenter, bricklayer, plasterer, roofer, tiler, floor sander, painter, landscaper, etc.
Confidential Information includes all material, IP, non-public, business-related information disclosed or made available to the receiving party through any means, relating to a party’s business but excludes information that, without breaching this agreement, is already public or known to the receiving party.
Content means all tools we create, develop, or use to supply you a Service, which might include one or more of the following: access to videos, written information, audio, lessons, digital products, classes, workshops, training plans, feedback, advice, programs, content on our Site, digital products, eBooks, and / or webinars. Josh & Jenna always retains ownership of all our Content.
Fees means the charges you pay to us for the Services we provide, as set out on or Service Page or as otherwise agreed with you.
Intellectual Property (IP) means any and all of the following in any jurisdiction throughout the world: trademarks and service marks, including all applications and registrations, and goodwill connected with the use of them, patents, copyrights, Site, and internet domain names, including all related applications and registrations, trade secrets and confidential know-how, other intellectual property and related proprietary rights, interests, and protections. Our Content forms part of Plan Proofing Intellectual Property.
Project Period means the period of time during which we will provide you our Content and Services which starts from when you book in your Project and continues until we provide you our final Report and / or Consultation.
Project Booking means the time you have scheduled with us for Consultations and for us to deliver our Services to you.
Project Brief means the Service details set out when you booked your Project (including information on the relevant Service Page), such as the type of Services, the length and type of Project, included Content, as well as the applicable Fees, and the further details for your Project that we agree with you in a Consultation, such as key priorities, lifestyle factors, areas of concern, and other focus areas.
Services means the various design and services offered by us from time to time, including site and plan reviews, furniture layouts, functionality assessments, sustainability considerations, material and finish choices, lighting suggestions, mood boards and colour schemes, soft furnishings, furniture, art and accessory selections, styling tips, consulting, webinars, workshops, courses, and other related products & services
Concept means an intended plan that needs to be developed further to become buildable.
Consultation means a scheduled time we agree with you to spend with you to gather your instructions, work on helping you, and providing our Services to you.
Service Page means the type of Services we’ll deliver for you and the key details of those Services, including the Fees you’ll need to pay, as set out on a page on our Site.
Site includes our websites com.au & our presence on third-party applications & social media platforms like YouTube and @joshandjenna @planproofing on Instagram.

If you have any questions or notices about these Terms or our other policies, please contact us, we are happy to help!

Last updated: December 2022