HealthShare Terms of Service

Last updated 19 March 2019

The following Terms of Service constitute an agreement between you and HealthShare Pty Ltd (“HealthShare”), the operator of the websites https://www.healthshare.com.au, https://www.specialistnow.com.au, https://www.healthsharedigital.com and other sites that we may operate from time to time (the “Sites”) who may also be referred to as “we” or “us”. This agreement (“Terms of Service”) governs your use of the Sites. By browsing the Sites, and/or by registering with us, you signify that you agree to these Terms of Service, including that you agree to transact with us electronically, that you consent to the information practices disclosed in our Privacy Policy, and that you consent to resolve in the State of New South Wales, Australia any dispute that you may have with us, our suppliers, or the Sites. Please note that we offer the Sites “AS IS” and without warranties whether express or implied.

Please read the Terms of Service carefully before you use or register for this Site. Creators, managers and/or operators of Networks on the Site are also required to carefully read the Network Creator Terms of Service which are outlined in this document.

The Sites are an information resource only and should not be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Nor are they an endorsement of a particular treatment or practitioner.

1. About the Site

The Sites contain a range of communities about health and wellbeing which is made available on the basis that HealthShare is not providing professional advice. While we upload content provided by various contributors onto the Sites, the authors of the content are those persons identified in the relevant posting. HealthShare does not consider or assess the quality or accuracy of the postings, nor do we accept or endorse the content of such posts.

The Sites also contain a range of fact sheets prepared by HealthShare regarding a number of particular health conditions. This content has been uploaded as a general guide to these health conditions and, as explained further in clause 5 of these Terms, the fact sheets are not intended to be, and should not be treated as, medical advice.

The https://www.specialistnow.com.au website provides a service to help Australian patients find an appointment quickly with a qualified Australian specialist, such service is subject to these Terms.
The https://www.healthsharedigital.com website is the corporate website of HealthShare Pty Ltd and is used to promote HealthShare’s products and services.

Everything we offer on the Sites, including any promotions and competitions, is referred to in these Terms of Service collectively as “the Services.” To participate in our communities or store your information you must register as a member. Review our Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines for additional information.

2. Changes to These Terms of Service

We may change these Terms of Service at any time without prior notice to you by posting a revised version of these Terms on the Sites. Your continued use of a Site or Services constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to any revised Terms of Service. Any revisions to these Terms will take effect from the specified date or where no effective date is specified, when the revised terms are posted on the relevant Site(s). We encourage you to review the Terms of Service regularly. In case of a Substantial Change, we will provide at least 14 days’ prior written notice of the change. “Substantial Change” means a material change to the Terms that reduces your rights or increases your responsibilities. If you disagree with any changes to these Terms of Service, you should discontinue your use of the Site(s), or if you have registered as a member or Health Care Practitioner, you should cancel your registration. Your ongoing use of any of the Services or of the Site(s) after the changes take effect signifies your agreement to the new terms.

3. Registration

When you register you are required to provide your name, email address and password. These are your credentials for accessing Services that are only available to members (“Credentials”).
In doing so, you agree that you:

(a) are not impersonating any person or entity;
(b) are not intentionally or unintentionally violating any applicable state or federal law regarding use of personal or identification information; and
(c) will provide, on demand from HealthShare, verification of your identity and address in such form as required by HealthShare.

The Sites and the Services are not directed to minors under 18 and are offered only to users 18 years of age or older. If you are under 18 years old, please do not use the Sites and/or the Services. Any person who provides their personal information through the Sites represents to us that they are 18 years of age or older.

For health care practitioners:

When you register as a Health Care Practitioner, you warrant and represent that the information you provide to us is (and remains) accurate, true and correct and that you will inform HealthShare as soon as possible of any changes or amendments to this information or in the event there is any inaccuracy to your personal information or professional profile on the Sites.

HealthShare reserves the right to suspend your professional profile or cancel your registration at any time as a HealthShare registered Health Care Practitioner, should HealthShare form the view, in its absolute discretion, that HealthShare’s reputation, brand, operations (including its website, blogs and membership) or business (including its partners and affiliates) may be affected or harmed as a result of your registration with HealthShare.

You shall indemnify HealthShare in accordance with clause 21 of these Terms of Service for any liabilities, claims, damages, loss and expenses suffered by HealthShare arising from a breach of this clause or these Terms of Service.

4. Your Personal Information

The HealthShare Privacy Policy, explains the information practices that apply to the personal information we have about you. If you provide information to the Sites, please ensure that it is accurate, current and complete. You agree to maintain and update such information as appropriate.

You consent to the transfer of this information to and within Australia or other countries for processing and storage by us. Additionally, you agree that we may use your Credentials to authenticate you on any Service or the Sites.

5. We Do Not Provide Medical Advice

This Sites and the Services offer health information, as well as the opportunity to join discussion groups relating to health issues and are designed for educational purposes only. You must not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does the information replace, professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. The information on the Sites is not intended to be medical advice: the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any medical condition and should not be used for therapeutic purposes. HealthShare does not endorse, accept or adopt the Health Care Practitioners appearing on its site, or any other Health Care Practitioners, including specialist practitioners, to whom you may be referred as a result of using its site, nor the content of their profiles or any questions they answer in the community forum. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always take your own steps to seek out and consult with a suitably qualified healthcare professional. Do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health-related advice from your health care practitioner because of something you may have read on this Site. Nothing stated or posted on a Site or available through any Services is intended to be, and must not be taken to be, the practice of medical or counselling care. Developments in medical research may impact the information that appears on the Sites. No assurance can be given that the information contained in a Site will always include the most recent findings or developments with respect to a particular topic. Your access or use of a Site and the Services does not create in any way a practitioner/patient, confidential or privileged relationship, or any other relationship that would give rise to any duties on our part or the part of our contributors. We do not recommend or endorse any specific tests, health-care practitioners, procedures, opinions or other information that may appear on the Site. If you rely on any of the information provided by a Site, its employees, or its guests or visitors, you do so solely at your own risk.

6. Your Responsibilities

You are responsible for all use of a Site and Services using your Credentials, including use by others to whom you have given your Credentials. You are responsible for keeping your password confidential and for notifying us if your password has been hacked or stolen. You may use the Sites and Services for lawful purposes only. When participating in our communities or providing ratings, you must comply with the Community Guidelines. You may not use the Sites in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair our servers or networks, or interfere with any other party’s use and enjoyment of the Sites and/or Services. You may not attempt to gain unauthorised access to any Services, user accounts or computer systems or networks, through hacking, password mining or any other means. We may take any legal and technical remedies to prevent the violation of this provision and to enforce these Terms of Service.

7. Limitation on Use of Automated Tools

You may not use any robot, spider, scraper or other automated means to access the Sites or Services for any purpose without our express written permission.

8. Changes to the Services

We may from time to time add new Services, substitute a new Service for an existing Service, or discontinue an existing Service. Information about new Services will be included on the Sites and the use of new Services will be governed by these Terms of Service.

9. Links to Other Sites

The Sites may include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience only and do not mean that we endorse these sites or the products and services they provide. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible or liable for the content or accuracy of these other sites.

10. Additional Terms

Certain Services on the Sites may have additional terms (such as policies and guidelines, or terms and conditions for particular promotions and competitions) that will further govern your use of that particular Service and supplement these Terms of Service. If you choose to register for or access any such Service, you will be presented with any relevant additional terms and conditions at that time. By using those Services, you agree to comply with such additional guidelines and rules.

11. No Spam

You must not use contact information provided by our users, or harvest information about our users, for the purpose of sending, or to facilitate the sending, of unsolicited bulk communications such as SPAM or SPIM. You must not allow others to use your account to violate the terms of this section. We may terminate your membership or access to the Sites immediately and take other legal action if you or anyone using your Credentials violates these provisions.

12. Content You Post or Submit

a) When participating in our communities you must comply with these Terms of Service and the Community Guidelines.
b) You are solely responsible for any content and other material (“Content”) that you submit, publish or display on the Sites or transmit to other members and/or other website users (hereinafter, “Posted Content”.
c) You must not provide any Posted Content that falsely represents (expressly or implied) that such Content is sponsored or endorsed by HealthShare.
d) You must not provide any Posted Content that is unlawful or that promotes or encourages illegal activity, including but not limited to any Posted Content which would breach the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, Therapeutic Goods Regulations 1990, the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and/or the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (including schedule 2: The Australian Consumer Law).
e) The following is a partial list of the kind of Content and communications that are illegal or prohibited on/through the Site. You understand and agree that we may investigate and delete any business or organisation listings (including name, address, phone, fax or distance) or other Posted Content that, in the sole judgment of HealthShare, violates these Terms of Service or which might be offensive, illegal, or that might violate the rights of, harm or threaten the safety of other users or members of the Sites and/or other website users. In particular, you must not post Content that:

  • is false, deceptive or misleading (or is likely to mislead or deceive);
  • is patently offensive to users of the Site, such as messages that promote racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any group or individual;
  • harasses or advocates harassment of another person or group;
  • involves the transmission of unsolicited mass mailing or “spamming”;
  • infringes the intellectual property or other rights of any person;
  • violates publicity, privacy or other rights of any party;
  • promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive;
  • in respect of any testimonial, is not able to be substantiated and/or is not genuine, truthful and/or accurate;
  • is threatening, obscene or defamatory;
  • Is pornographic or sexually explicit in nature.
  • HealthShare reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and any entity which you have reviewed.

You agree that you will only provide Posted Content including, but not limited to any testimonials, that you believe to be true and able to be substantiated and you will not purposely provide false or misleading information.

By posting Posted Content on the Sites, you agree to, and hereby grant and represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, HealthShare, its contractors, and the users of the HealthShare Sites an irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully sub-licensable, fully paid up, worldwide license to use, copy, publicly perform, digitally perform, publicly display and distribute such Posted Content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such Posted Content. This license is non-exclusive, except you agree that we shall have the exclusive right to enjoy this license to the extent of combining your Posted Content with the Posted Content of other HealthShare users for purposes of constructing or populating a searchable database.

13. Our Ownership and Your Use of Content

Subject to 12 above, all of the Content available on or through the Services and/or the Sites are owned by us and our contributors and is protected by copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws, other proprietary rights and international treaties. It may also have security components that protect digital information. We give you permission to use the Content for personal, non-commercial purposes only, unless expressly authorised by HealthShare. You may also print, download and store articles and other information for your own convenience, but you must not distribute, republish (except as permitted in this paragraph), sell, mine, exploit, frame or scrape any of the Content, or exploit the Content for commercial gain.

14. Linking To This Website

You generally do not need to obtain permission from HealthShare to put a text link on your site that links back to the Sites. We reserve the right to revoke permission to the link at any time in our sole discretion. If we revoke such consent, you agree to immediately remove and disable any and all of your links to the Sites. In the absence of a written agreement with us specifying how you may link to the site, contact us for guidelines on how you should display the link.

15. Competitions and Promotions

We may offer competitions and promotions on any of the Sites. Competitions and promotions shall be governed by specific rules accessible from the page offering the competition or promotion and will be presented to you at the time you choose to participate.

16. International Use

The Sites and Services, including the information provided on the Sites, are designed for and intended for users in Australia only. We make no representation that a Site or Services are applicable to, appropriate for or available to users in locations outside Australia. Accessing the Sites and Services from territories where the content is illegal is prohibited. If you choose to access the Sites and Services from a location outside Australia, you do so on your own initiative and you are responsible for compliance with local laws.

17. We Make No Warranties

We provide the Sites and the Services “as is”, “with all faults” and “as available.” We and our suppliers make no express or implied warranties or guarantees about the Sites and Services. To the extent permitted by law, we and our suppliers make no express or implied warranty or representation in respect of the information on the Site and the Services, including but not limited to the completeness, currency, availability, reliability, suitability and/or accuracy of any information on the Sites. We and our suppliers do not guarantee that the results that may be obtained from the use of the Services will be effective, reliable, accurate or meet your requirements.

We do not guarantee that you will be able to access or use the Sites and/or the Services (either directly or through third-party networks) at times or locations of your choosing. No oral or written information given by a HealthShare representative shall create a warranty. You use the Sites and the Services at your own risk.

18. Security

HealthShare takes reasonable steps to secure the Sites. However, you acknowledge that there are risks that information which is sent to or from the Site may be modified, intercepted or corrupted by third parties. Furthermore, you acknowledge that there is a risk that material downloaded from the Site may contain viruses, worms or other defects or devices. HealthShare accepts no liability for any damages to or interference with your computer or device used in connection with the Site. You agree that your use of the Site and/or Services is solely at your own risk.

19. General Limitation of Liability

You agree that your use of any information on the Sites and/or the Services is at your own risk entirely and that the Site may contain inaccuracies or errors.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, your sole and exclusive remedy for any dispute with us or our contributors is the cancellation of your registration. We shall not be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, consequential or exemplary damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Sites and/or Services.

20. Termination

We may terminate and/or suspend your registration immediately, without notice, if there has been a violation of these Terms of Service or other policies and terms posted on the Services by someone using your Credentials. We may also cancel or suspend your registration for any other reason, including if we are notified that you may have engaged in identity theft or fraud or due to inactivity for an extended period, but we will attempt to notify you in advance of such cancellation or suspension. Your right to use the Services will end once your registration is cancelled or terminated, and any data you have stored on such a Service may be unavailable later, unless we are required to retain it by law including for the purposes of making a report to police in relation to identity theft or fraud. You may terminate your registration at any time. We recommend that you transfer any records or other information stored on the Site prior to terminating your registration.

21. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless us, our employees, contractors, officers, directors, agents, parent, other affiliated companies and suppliers, from all liabilities, claims, damages, loss and expenses, including attorney’s fees, that arise from your use or misuse of the Sites and the Services including, but not limited to, your reliance on any information presented on the Sites and your Posted Content, or for health care practitioners, for a breach of these Terms of Service. We reserve the right to assume control of the defence of any third party claim that is subject to indemnification by you, in which event you will cooperate with us in asserting any available defences.

22. Electronic Contracting and Notices

By using the Sites and/or registering for the Sites (or Services, you accept these Terms of Service together with our Privacy Policy and Community Guidelines (the “Agreement”). You also agree that we may send to you in electronic form any privacy or other notices, disclosures, reports, documents, communications or other records regarding the Sites and/or the Services (collectively, “Notices”). We can send electronic Notices to the e-mail address that you provided to us during registration. Alternatively we may post the Notice on the applicable Service or otherwise through the Site. Notice will be deemed given twenty-four (24) hours after such email is sent or notice is posted. You can withdraw your consent to receive Notices electronically by cancelling or discontinuing your use of the applicable Service.
In order to receive Notices electronically, you must have a personal computer with a modem connected to a communications source (telephone, wireless or broadband), and a Windows-based operating system with an Internet browser or a Macintosh-based operating system with an Internet browser. You will need a printer attached to your personal computer to print any Notices. You can retrieve an electronic copy and a printable version of this contract by clicking on the “Terms of Service” link on any web page that hosts any of the Services. All contracts completed electronically will be deemed for all legal purposes to be in writing and legally enforceable as a signed writing.

23. Entire Agreement

The Agreement and any supplemental terms, policies, rules and guidelines posted on the Sites and/or the Services constitute the entire agreement between you and us and supersede all previous written or oral agreements. If any part of the Agreement is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion shall be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions shall remain in full force and effect.

24. Choice of Law and Location for Resolving Disputes

You agree that the law of the State of New South Wales, Australia governs these Terms of Service and any claim or dispute that you may have against us. You further agree that any disputes or claims that you may have against us will be resolved by a court located in the State of New South Wales.

25. Trade Marks

All trade marks appearing on the Sites are the property of their respective owners, including, without limitation, HealthShare. No right, license or interest to such trade marks is granted by this Agreement.

26. Relationship of the Parties

The parties are independent contractors with respect to each other. This Agreement does not constitute and shall not be construed as constituting a partnership or joint venture among the parties hereto, or an employee-employer relationship. You agree that HealthShare has no special relationship with or fiduciary duty to you. Neither party shall have any right, power or authority to enter into any agreement for, or on behalf of, or incur any obligation or liability of, or to otherwise bind, the other party.

27. General

The failure of HealthShare to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should try to give effect to the parties’ intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this Agreement remain in full force and effect.

You may not delegate your duties under this Agreement, or assign this Agreement or your HealthShare accounts, in whole or in part, provided, however, that you may assign this Agreement in connection with any merger (including by operation of law), consolidation, reorganisation or sale of all, or substantially all, of its related assets or similar transaction. HealthShare may assign any of its rights and obligations under this Agreement without consent including, in connection with any merger (including by operation of law), consolidation, reorganisation, or sale of all or substantially all of its related assets or similar transaction. This Agreement shall be binding on the parties’ permitted assignees, transferees and successors.

Neither party is relying upon any warranties, representations, assurances or inducements not expressly set forth in this Agreement.

The terms “including” and “includes” shall be deemed to be followed by the statement “without limitation” and neither of these terms shall be construed to limit any word or statement it follows to the specific or similar terms or matters immediately following it.

HealthShare may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to this Agreement or any of HealthShare’s terms and conditions, by email or postings on the Sites. Notice will be deemed given twenty-four (24) hours after such an email is sent or notice is posted. Notices not pertaining to any amendments to this Agreement or any Guidelines (such as notices relating to technical changes to the Sites) are deemed given two (2) days following the initial posting.

28. Contact

You may contact HealthShare in the following ways:
Email: info@healthshare.com.au
Postal: HealthShare Pty Limited. PO Box 259, Bondi Junction 1355 Australia