TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Introduction
1.1 These Terms and Conditions govern the use by Pet Carers of the Dogg web-hosted online marketplace (referred to as the Platform). The Platform is available at https://dogg.com.au
1.2 The Platform is provided by Dogg Technologies Pty Ltd (ACN: 48 626 315 482) (Dogg, we, us and our) to Users. These Users may be:
A person who is take care of and/or or otherwise provide services in relation to a pet owner’s pet in return for receiving payment, (Pet Carer, you, and your); or
A pet owner who wants a person to take care of and/or or otherwise provide services in relation to their pet, (the Pet Owner).
1.3 The Platform enables a Pet Owner to find and connect with Pet Carers.
1.4 To access and use the Platform as a Pet Carer, you need to register as a User and agree to comply with these Terms and Conditions.
1.5 These Terms and Conditions govern use of the Platform by Pet Carers. If you want to have access to the Platform as an Owner of a pet (who seeks a pet carer) then other terms apply to you https://link.dogg.com.au/pet-owner-terms.
1.6 When a Pet Owner books a Pet Carer’s services through the Platform, an agreement will come into existence between the Pet Owner and the Pet Carer. That agreement contains the following minimum Terms and Conditions which are available here https://link.dogg.com.au/pet-caring-agreement (Pet Caring Agreement). You must read the Terms and Conditions of the Pet Caring Agreement before you commit to performing Services for an Owner. A Pet Carer and a Pet Owner can agree on other terms which are in addition to the Pet Caring Agreement, however the Pet Caring Agreement is the minimum essential terms which apply to their engagement when they agree to the terms of use of this Platform.
Definitions and Interpretation
2.1 In these Terms and Conditions, the definitions have the following meanings:
Additional Costs means other expenses incurred by the Pet Carer, which may include, but is not limited to, costs incurred for Optional Extras.
Booking Fee means the fee which is calculated as a percentage (%) of the Services Fee. The Booking Fee is separate from and in addition to the Services Fee.
Dangerous Dog means a dog that an authorised council officer or a local court has declared as dangerous because it:
has attacked or killed a person or animal (not being vermin);
has repeatedly threatened to attack or repeatedly chased a person or animal (not including vermin);
is kept or used for hunting (not including a dog used for locating, flushing, pointing or retrieving birds or vermin); or
has been declared a dangerous dog under any act or by-law of the relevant state or territory for any other reason.
Dispute means any dispute which arises out of or relates to the Pet Caring Agreement or this Agreement, including without limitation the entering into, breach, termination or validity of these Terms and Conditions.
Dogg Fee means the fee which is calculated as a percentage (%) of the Services Fee. The Dogg Fee is separate from and in addition to the Booking Fee.
Dogg Policies means the range of policies which are in effect and are made available on our website to all Users, specifically in relation to the scope of allowed, recommended and prohibited activities with respect to the use of our Platform and the performance of the Pet Carer’s Services.
GST means a goods and services tax imposed by or through A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.
Insurance Policy means the Public and Product Liability Policy and any other relevant insurance policy covering Dogg and the Pet Carer when Services are booked and paid for via the Platform. Details of the policy are available here: https://dogg.com.au/insurance.
Law means any Commonwealth, State, Territory or local government legislation in force in Australia or any law of a foreign jurisdiction, including regulations, by-laws, declarations, ministerial directions and other subordinate legislation and the common law in Australia.
Loss includes any liability, damage, costs (including legal costs on a solicitor and own client basis) and other outgoing, and any diminution in value of, or deficiency of any kind, in anything.
Optional Extras means any extra services offered by the Pet Carer which may be taken up by the Owner after the initial contract has been agreed. These may include, but are not limited to performing Services at unsociable hours, or special services requested by the Owner.
Profile means the information and content in any format or any media which is published by you on the Platform to be reviewed by a User (including a Pet Owner who may wish to receive your Services).
Services Fee means the aggregate of the fees payable by the Owner to the Pet Carer through the Platform in return for the Services offered by the Pet Carer and includes any Additional Costs. The Dogg Fee and the Booking Fee are calculated as a percentage (%) of the Services Fee.
Services means the services which the Pet Carer agrees to provide to the Pet Owner (with respect to the pet) and any Optional Extras which the Pet Carer promotes and provides to the Pet Owner through the Platform.
User means a Pet Carer, a Pet Owner or any third party who utilises the Platform for a legitimate purpose, whether they have registered as a Pet Carer or a Pet Owner on the Platform, or not.
2.2. In these Terms and Conditions, unless the context otherwise requires:
words denoting any gender include all genders;
headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation;
the singular includes the plural and vice versa;
Scope
3.1 By registering as a Pet Carer on the Platform:
you agree to comply with these Terms and Conditions; and
these Terms and Conditions form a binding legal agreement between you and us; and
you agree with us that:
you will provide your Services to each Owner who engages you through the Platform; and
you will comply with the terms of your agreement with the Owner which are set out in the Pet Caring Agreement between you and the Owner.
3.2 You appoint us to act as your agent for the limited purpose of:
promoting your availability to perform Services for an Owner;
managing the reservation of your Services (booking) through the Platform;
enabling and receiving payment by the Owner of the Services Fee through the Platform; and
matters related to the Insurance Policy and to Occurrences (as defined in the Insurance Policy) which are covered by the Insurance Policy.
3.3 Our appointment as your agent commences on the date you register as a Pet Carer on the Platform and ends when this agreement is terminated in accordance with clause 11.
3.4 We agree to act as your agent provided that you comply with your obligations under this agreement.
3.5 After we have accepted your registration on the Platform we grant to you a personal, revocable, non-assignable and non-exclusive licence to access and use the Platform for the purpose of advertising your Services and implementing the functionality of the Platform to enable your delivery of the Services and payment.
3.6 Both parties agree and acknowledge that the Pet Carer (and not Dogg) is solely responsible to provide the Services to the Owner. Nothing in this agreement creates an employment, joint venture, principal and agent (with the limited exception of clause 3.2) or partnership relationship between Dogg and the Pet Carer or between the Pet Carer and the Owner.
3.7 Any fine, penalty, cost, fee or other liability (including any liability to the Pet Owner) which may be incurred by you in the course of performing the Services is your exclusive responsibility and you indemnify Dogg against any claim made against Dogg in respect of such a fine, penalty, cost, fee or other liability.
Your Obligations
4.1 The responsibilities in this clause apply when you are using the Platform and/or providing your Services to the Owner, unless otherwise stated.
4.2 You must comply with and at all times behave in a manner that is totally consistent with our Dogg Guidelines. https://link.dogg.com.au/guidelines. The Dogg Guidelines provide essential advice and information to ensure that Pet Carers, Pet Owners and the pets have an optimal experience. Some examples from the Dogg Guidelines are (this is not an exhaustive list):
You must meet with the Pet Owner, (in person.... not online), before performing the Services on the first occasion;
You must not allow the pet off leash when your Services include dog walking (for instance), unless you have been given clear permission by the Pet Owner.
4.3 You must behave at all times in a way that does not result in any damage to our reputation.
4.4 You must comply with the policies and procedures in connection with your use of the Platform, including the following:
Complaints Policy. https://link.dogg.com.au/complaints.
Incident Reporting Policy. https://link.dogg.com.au/incident-reporting.
Payments and Refunds Policy. https://link.dogg.com.au/payments-refunds.
Privacy Policy. https://link.dogg.com.au/privacy.
4.5 We reserve the right to immediately and without prior notice terminate or suspend your registration on the Platform if you fail to comply with these Terms and Conditions and/or Dogg Policies or for any reason whatsoever in our absolute and unfettered discretion. If your registration is terminated or suspended, your Profile will not be visible to Pet Owners and you will not be able to use the Platform.
4.6 You must:
comply with all applicable Laws when using the Platform and providing the Services (including, where applicable, laws relating to mandatory insurance coverage);
bear all costs and expenses related to your use of the Platform and your provision of Services to an Owner.
Your Profile
5.1 You warrant that all information appearing in your Profile and/or provided to us when you register as a Pet Carer or otherwise during the Term of this Agreement and/or posted by you to the Platform is true, accurate and complete.
5.2 You must not, in relation to your use of the Platform:
impersonate others;
misrepresent your affiliation with others;
offer to perform Services that you are not authorised to offer or which you are not reasonably capable of performing;
share your login details and passwords to any other person;
interrupt or attempt to negatively impact or alter the operation of the Platform in any way;
engage in any practice which may adversely affect the credibility or reputation of Dogg or the Platform;
denigrate or defame Dogg or another User (including another Pet Carer or a Pet Owner);
violate applicable laws (including laws of defamation), violate the intellectual property rights or other rights of Dogg or others, or engage in activity that is fraudulent, obscene, unprofessional, offensive, or misleading;
reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Platform or use the Platform to develop a solution that is the same or substantially similar to the Platform;
licence, sell, rent, lease, transfer, assign or otherwise commercially exploit, or otherwise make the Platform available to any third party;
except as permitted under this agreement, modify, reproduce, display, publish, distribute, copy, transmit, perform, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or sell or resell any information, content, (including images and text), software, or materials made available through the Platform; or
engage in any misleading or deceptive conduct or any other conduct that would contravene the Australian Consumer Law.
Ethical Performance of Services
6.1 You must pass a background check to our satisfaction, and you must demonstrate to our satisfaction that you have passed our free online course (or any other requirements we impose) before offering your Services on the Platform. Dogg may insist at any time that, as a condition of your continued use of the Platform, you submit to a background check or successfully complete a training course of our choice.
6.2 We reserve the right, at all times, to refuse or terminate your registration on the Platform where we form the view, acting reasonably, that the Pet Carer is not a suitable candidate to be a Pet Carer or perform Services. You consent to Dogg making enquiries if you supply the contact details of personal referees to us. We will only ever enquire about your suitability to be a Pet Carer.
6.3 We will assess your application to be a Pet Carer and our decision is final and absolute in our unfettered discretion.
6.4 While you remain a User on the Platform, we may audit you to ensure you continue to be a suitable Pet Carer or perform Services. You agree to provide information and assistance we reasonably require to undertake such audits.
Our Obligations
7.1 We will provide you with access to the Platform and the functionality which is enabled by the Platform including the ability to promote your Profile to Users and manage the booking and receipt of payment for performing Services. Our agency does not extend beyond the scope described in clause 3.
7.2 We may, at any time, enhance and/or alter the features and functionality of the Platform at our sole discretion and without notice to you.
Intellectual Property
8.1 You grant to us a royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable licence to use, copy and distribute information or content (including photographs, text, audio/visual works) which appears in your Profile for the purpose of:
promoting your availability to perform Services;
promoting and marketing the Platform on social media; and
promoting and marketing the Platform in other media (provided that any content which identifies you personally will not be used unless you have consented).
8.2 When you post content to your Profile, you warrant to us that you own or control the intellectual property rights and have obtained all necessary consents and have the legal rights to grant the licence to us in clause 8.1. You indemnify us against any claim or loss arising from infringement or alleged infringement of third party intellectual property rights of any third party or failure to obtain consent which arises in connection with the information and content which you publish to your Profile.
8.3 Dogg’s trade marks are used and displayed in conjunction with the Platform and must not be copied or used by you unless authorised in writing by Dogg.
Privacy and Personal Information
9.1 In order to use the Platform, you must provide us with certain information about yourself. We will handle and store this information in accordance with our privacy policy. https://dogg.com.au/privacy
9.2 The Pet Carer consents and agrees that Dogg will share the Pet Carer’s name, email address and phone number with the Pet Owner, in respect of the booking of Services, to enable the Pet Carer to provide the Services to the Pet Owner. It is your discretion to decide whether to share your physical address or any other personal details with the Pet Owner.
9.3 In all cases Dogg requires the Pet Carer to submit to a background check as an essential pre-requisite for registration on the Platform. Dogg reserves the right to refuse or to terminate the registration of any User at any time and without giving a reason.
9.4 If the Services performed by you include dog walking, we may require that you to utilise geolocation tracking technology during the performance of those Services. In that case, you consent to sharing your geolocation data with Dogg and with the Pet Owner in connection with the Services.
Disputes
10.1 If a dispute arises between you (the Pet Carer) and a Pet Owner, you must follow the Dispute Resolution Policy. https://dogg.com.au/dispute. You must read the Dispute Resolution Policy because you will be bound by that policy when you accept these Terms and Conditions and also when you enter into the Pet Caring Agreement between you and the Pet Owner.
Cancellations
11.1 If the Pet Owner cancels the Services of if the Pet Carer cancels the Services in both cases the parties must abide by the Cancellations Policy. https://link.dogg.com.au/cancellations. In most (but not all) cases the Pet Owner will be entitled to receive a full or partial refund of the Services Fee. Please refer to the Cancellations Policy for further details. https://link.dogg.com.au/cancellations
Insurance
12.1 In some local government jurisdictions laws, by-laws and regulations may require professional pet walkers (including a Pet Carer) to carry insurance coverage. Dogg is not required to provide insurance coverage for a Pet Carer with respect to claims made against a Pet Carer arising from any loss or damage incurred by the Pet Carer or the Owner in the course of performing the Services. Non-compliance with local government laws, by-laws and regulations by a Pet Carer may incur fines or penalties and these are the sole responsibility of the Pet Carer.
12.2 Notwithstanding the foregoing, you, the Pet Carer, may be eligible for the benefit of coverage under the Insurance Policy which we have established for the benefit of Pet Carers. Details of the policy are available here. https://dogg.com.au/insurance.
12.3 We will provide you with general information about this policy but you are responsible for confirming that the Insurance Policy provides suitable and adequate coverage for you or if you want to obtain additional insurance.
12.4 There is no additional cost to you for the Insurance Policy, however in the event that you wish to make a claim:
you must promptly comply with our Incident Reporting Policy https://link.dogg.com.au/incident-reporting (and in doing so, bring to our attention that you may make a claim under the Insurance Policy);
you must not make any admission of liability or assume any liability which would not have attached to you in the absence of that assumption; and
you will be required to pay the amount of any applicable deductible or Excess (as defined in the Insurance Policy) which is imposed under the terms of the Insurance Policy.
Failure to fully comply with the foregoing requirements may render you ineligible to receive the benefit of the insurance coverage, if any.
12.5 It is important to note that the Insurance Policy is subject to various Special Conditions and Exclusions (as defined in the Insurance Policy) which you should read carefully. https://dogg.com.au/insurance
12.6 You, the Pet Carer, acknowledge that you are not covered by the Insurance Policy if the pet is a Dangerous Dog.
12.7 You, the Pet Carer, are solely responsible to comply with legislated insurance requirements (if applicable) and to obtain insurance coverage (which may include public liability and/or professional indemnity insurance) to cover risks arising in the course of you performing the Services. As an example, such risks may include your liability for a claim by the Pet Owner or by a third party arising from:
your negligent act or omission while you are performing the Services; or
injury incurred to or by the Pet Owner's pet arising from your negligent act or omission while you are performing the Services; or
death of the Pet Owner’s pet arising from your negligent act or omission while you are performing the Services.
12.8 We strongly recommend that you obtain your own appropriate insurance coverage when you perform Services.
Payment and Fees
13.1 We engage a reputable third-party online payment facilitator to enable a Pet Owner to pay for the Services on the Platform.
13.2 Provided that we have received the Services Fee from the Pet Owner and provided that you perform the Services, we will subtract the Dogg Fee from the Services Fee and remit the balance to you in accordance with our standard payment terms described in the Payments and Refunds Policy. https://link.dogg.com.au/payments-refunds.
13.3 You are responsible for setting the amount of the Services Fees which are charged by you for the Services provided by you to an Owner. The inherent functionality of the Platform will enable you to advise the Owner of your Services Fee before or at the time when they make a booking on the Platform.
13.4 We will invoice the Owner for the Services Fee on your behalf. We will do this as your agent by issuing a tax invoice to the Owner. The invoice will contain sufficient information to enable you and the Owner to identify the specific Services and the associated Services Fees (including Additional Costs and Optional Extras).
13.5 The Pet Owner is charged a Booking Fee when they use the Platform to book your Services. The Booking Fee is:
calculated as a percentage of the Services Fee;
charged by Dogg to the Pet Owner (not the pet Carer); and
retained by Dogg, exclusively.
additional to the Services Fee;
13.6 Following receipt by us of Services Fee and confirmation (to our satisfaction) that the Services have been completed by you, we will pay to you the balance of the Services Fee after deducting the Dogg Fee. Payment of the balance of the Services Fee to you will only be made when, and if, we have received payment from the Pet Owner.
13.7 The Dogg Fee is retained by Dogg from the Services Fee in return for enabling your registration on the Platform as a Pet Carer and granting you access to the Platform. The Dogg Fee and the Booking Fee are calculated in accordance with our fee structure, described here: https://link.dogg.com.au/fees-charges. We reserve the right to vary the Dogg Fee and the Booking Fee at any time but will give you not less than 30 days’ notice of any change.
13.8 We will keep and maintain records of the revenue generated from bookings of the Services through the Platform.
13.9 All of the Fees are stated on a GST inclusive basis. We will charge and collect GST where we are required to do so according to applicable laws.
Limitation of Liability
14.1 We are not responsible for any communication, interaction or relationship between you and another User, (including a Pet Owner) whether or not it occurs on the Platform or by another means. The relationship between you and the Owner is governed by the Pet Caring Agreement and any statutory terms which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified (including, for example, under the Australian Consumer Law).
14.2 Terms, conditions and warranties implied by Law which cannot be excluded, restricted or modified apply to these Terms and Conditions to the extent required by Law.
14.3 Subject to clause 14.2, our total and aggregate liability for loss suffered or sustained by you arising from this Agreement:
whether arising as a result of breach of contract, in tort (including negligence) or under statute; and
whether or not arising pursuant to an indemnity in these Terms and Conditions,
is limited to us providing you with access to the Platform again.
14.4 Neither party will be liable to the other party for any Indirect Loss arising from a breach of this Agreement or otherwise in connection with the provision of the Platform.
14.5 For the purposes of clause 14.4, the term Indirect Loss means Losses which do not arise naturally (that is, according to the usual course of things) from the relevant breach of this Agreement (including loss of profits or revenue, loss of goodwill or reputation, loss of anticipated benefits or savings, loss of any prospect or business opportunity, loss of production or other business interruption loss).
Indemnity
15.1 The Pet Carer agrees to indemnify, defend and hold Dogg (and each of its officers, employees and agents) (together, the Indemnified Persons) harmless against any Loss incurred or arising in respect of:
the death or illness of, or personal injury to, any individual or any pet in connection with your use of the Platform and the Services rendered by you; and
the loss or destruction of, or damage to, any tangible property in connection with your use of the Platform and the Services rendered by you,
except to the extent such Loss arises from our wilful misconduct.
Confidentiality
16.1 Any Confidential Information disclosed by one party (Discloser) to the other party (the Recipient):
must be kept confidential by the Recipient; and
must be used by the Recipient only for the purpose for which that Confidential Information was disclosed, or otherwise with the consent of the Discloser.
Termination and Suspension
17.1 You may terminate your account on the Platform at any time by following the account termination process in the Platform. If Services have already been booked by a Pet Owner at the time you give notice of termination, we will not close your account until after you have completed performance of the Services or after the Pet Owner accepts and acknowledges that the Services have been cancelled.
17.2 We may terminate or suspend your account at any time by giving written notice to you.
17.3 If the Platform is shut down for any reason (Closure) we will give you as much notice as is practicable of a Closure and will refund monies we are holding for bookings and will have no other liability to:
a Pet Carer for a booking that may have been received but does not result in performing the Services as a result of the Closure; or
a Pet Owner who does not receive the Services they have booked as a result of the Closure.
Feedback and Complaints
18.1 If you wish to make any comments about the Platform or your experience as a Pet Carer, we encourage you to provide us feedback by contacting us by either:
email at [email protected]; or
telephone on 1300 549 236
18.2 We have established an Incident Reporting Policy https://link.dogg.com.au/incidents and Complaints Policy https://link.dogg.com.au/complaints to enable you to report an incident and/or make a complaint. The Complaints Policy describes the process to manage your complaint and find a resolution. We are continuously trying to improve our procedures to provide a better Platform.
Updates to these Terms and Conditions
19.1 We may change these terms at any time. If we make changes, we will take reasonable steps to let you know about the changes.
19.2 If you access and use the Platform following any change to these Terms and Conditions you will be taken to have agreed to comply with the Terms and Conditions as changed. If you do not agree with changes to the Terms and Conditions, you can choose to close your account with us.
Notices
20.1 Notices given under these Terms and Conditions must be in writing and delivered by email to the recipient’s email address specified on the Platform.
20.2 A notice is taken to be duly given and received if delivered by email on the business day after it is dispatched if the sender does not receive a message to the effect that the sender is ‘out of office’ or that delivery has failed.
General
21.1 You grant to us a royalty-free, fully paid up, worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual irrevocable licence to use and incorporate into the Platform and/or into our business any general suggestions, enhancement requests, recommendations or other feedback provided by you.
21.2 We reserve the right (but we do not have any obligation) to monitor your use of the Platform for the purpose of ensuring that the Platform is functioning as we intended and that Users are complying with these Terms and Conditions.
21.3 These Terms and Conditions (and any document incorporated herein by reference) record the entire agreement between you and us in relation to its subject matter.
21.4 Each party must (at its own expense) do all things reasonably required or necessary to give the other party the full benefit of any obligation owed to the other party and expressed in these Terms and Conditions.
21.5 The rights and obligations in clauses 14, 15 and 16 will survive the termination or expiry of these Terms and Conditions.
21.6 Any part of these Terms and Conditions that is illegal or unenforceable will be severed and will not affect the continued operation of the remaining provisions.
21.7 These Terms and Conditions are governed by the laws of the State of New South Wales. Each party submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of courts exercising jurisdiction in the State of New South Wales in connection with all matters concerning these Terms and Conditions.
Contact Details
Dogg Technologies Pty Ltd (ACN: 48 626 315 482)
Shop 65,
436 Victoria Avenue,
Chatswood 2067 NSW
1300 549 236