Terms and Conditions

The Association’s Website provides you with the ability to: Register & manage your membership easily and lets you sign in and update your profiles, register for events, courses & choose your communication preference to receive the Association’s newsletter and updates. The Association use Glueup (a cloud-based membership management CRM platform) to manage membership and offer the Association membership Services.  In case of any update that can occur automatically from time to time on the Website, you are required to confirm these updates to pursue your subscription and use the Website. In this condition, your only responsibility is to accept all the terms.

These terms and conditions govern your use of the Australian Passivhaus Association (“the Association”) website (the "Website"). By using the Website, you agree to be bound by these Terms.  Make sure you have read and understood this Agreement carefully before visiting, registering, or using any services offered by the Association. By purchasing a product, service, membership, using our member portal, button or by downloading, installing, or copying you agree to abide by the terms and conditions contained herein; if you do not agree to all terms set forth in this Agreement, you must click “Decline” and do not use or access the Website and must not use any of our services. 

The Association may amend these Terms at any time at the Association’s sole discretion by posting new Terms on this Website. The new Terms will, from the date of posting, apply to your use of and access to the Website through your acceptance of them by subsequent or continued use of the Website. 

It is your duty to assess whether your use of the Website is legal, and you must abide by all applicable laws while doing so. You must not use the Website in any way that causes, or may cause, damage to the Website or impairment of the availability or accessibility of the Website; or in any way which is unlawful, illegal, fraudulent, or harmful, or in connection with any unlawful, illegal, fraudulent, or harmful purpose or activity. 

These terms and conditions govern your use of this Website when you are paying your membership fees, purchasing, or acquiring any services from or making any other payment to the Association (these Terms). These Terms should be read together with the Association’s privacy policy (the Privacy Policy). Refunds are not available for change of mind. You agree to pay the amount of payment to the Association that you are charged to pay according to the membership plan you purchase. We charge you through a payment associated with your membership account using third-party payment processors (Stripe)  All currency references on the Website are to Australian Dollars (AUD). Prices shown in the Member portal are without GST; however, 10% GST will be added to the base price for all paid services APA offers through the member portal.

Please note: Membership fees are non-refundable, non-transferable to individuals or organizations. Please assess your own situation prior to signing up for the APA membership.

You can opt-in to have your membership automatically renew each year. You will pay the annual fee in full. Automatic renewal payments can be made either by credit/debit card or direct debit from a nominated bank account. Members can update or change these payment arrangements or payment details at any time by logging into the Member Portal at www.memberspassivhausassociation.au/Login 

You are responsible to ensure that your account and payment details (including direct debit or credit card details) are current and to update your card details every time a card expires, is cancelled or you are issued with a replacement card.  Payment failures, including due to incorrect or out-of-date payment details, will result in the immediate withdrawal of services and deactivation of the membership until the applicable payment is processed successfully. If you cancel or let your membership lapse at any time in the twelve months and then re-join in the same calendar year, you will be charged the full annual fee. 

When using our member directory, please verify the credentials of builders, designers, or certified professionals. We collect voluntary information, but the Australian Passivhaus Association (APA) is not responsible for any inaccuracies. APA will not be liable for any financial or reputational loss incurred due to reliance on information in the member directory. Users are encouraged to independently verify credentials before engaging with listed professionals. To check certification details of Professional, click here: https://cms.passivehouse.com/en/training/find-professional/

You may request a change to your event registrations and other Association’s services. The Association may at its discretion accept or decline such a request or may offer another option. All requests to change or exchange event registrations, tickets, or other products must be sent to the Association by email at admin@passivhausassociation.au

If your request for cancellation or a refund is accepted by the Association, you agree to pay the Association the applicable administration fee and the applicable GST. For more details, refer to the section below: 

The Association will not agree to a refund if the request is received less than 14 days before the event starts unless otherwise stated below. The Association will not agree to a refund on a ticket or registration to an event because you have changed your mind. 

The Association reserves the right to alter event arrangements or cancel any event, even with limited notice to attendees, for circumstances beyond our reasonable control. This will include events that cannot safely or responsibly be held due to unforeseen circumstances i.e Covid -19 and government restrictions on public gatherings. 

If the Association cancels an event entirely, the Association’s maximum liability is limited to a full refund of your event ticket or registration fee.  

If the Association cancels and reschedules an event, your ticket or registration will be transferred to the next available and equivalent event. Your ticket or registration will not be eligible for a refund.

The Association accepts no liability for any other additional costs you incur in connection with a cancelled or rescheduled event. 

If you are unable to attend an event, you are welcome to contact us and request a substitute person to attend in your place. You will need to provide the substitute attendee’s details at the time of the request. 

Start and end times for all events are provided as a general guide. Some events may finish earlier or later than the published times. 

Unless otherwise stated, we or our licensors own the intellectual property rights in the Website and material on the Website. Subject to the license below, all these intellectual property rights are reserved. The Website owns and protects all information, photos, text, data compilations, software, copyright, and other content supplied. 

In these terms and conditions, “your user content” means material (including without limitation text, images, audio material, video material and audio-visual material) that you submit to the Website, for whatever purpose. You grant to us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, and distribute your user content in any existing or future media. You also grant us the right to sub-license these rights, and the right to bring an action for infringement of these rights. 

Your content must not be illegal or unlawful, must not infringe any third party's legal rights, and must not be capable of amounting to a criminal offence or give rise to a civil liability, or otherwise be contrary to the law of any country or territory where it is or may be published or received. 

Code of conduct  

By joining our discussion board, and social media page and using the Website, you agree that you have read and will follow these rules and guidelines. You also agree to keep discussions and shared files and content to the type that is best suited to the medium when you post comments, images, and other content. 

In our commitment to uphold the integrity and value of Australian Passivhaus Association's materials, we kindly remind all members to exercise the utmost discretion and respect when handling our proprietary documents and intellectual property (IP). It is imperative that any documents designated exclusively for members not be shared or distributed to the public without prior written approval from the Association. Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in serious consequences. Members found to be in violation of the Australian Passivhaus Association's IP policies will receive a formal warning as a first step. Persistent violations may ultimately lead to the termination of their membership privileges.

The Association reserve the right to moderate all content on social media account, discussion group and profile we manage. We may delete any content that infringes the intellectual property, or other rights, of other people or organisations. Do not post any content that may: 

Be illegal, defamatory, or infringe on any rights of third parties. 

Be anti-competitive. 

Contain hate speech, discrimination, or offensive language. 

Be spam, promote scams, or contain misleading information. 

Promote or glorify violence. 

Violate any terms of service or community guidelines of the forum or platform on which it is posted.

You agree to indemnify us, and our directors, officers, employees, and agents, from and against any claims, actions or suits or proceedings, as well as any losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with your use of the Website, your user content or your breach of these terms and conditions. 

Without prejudice to our other rights under these terms and conditions, if you breach these terms and conditions in any way, or we reasonably suspect that you have breached these terms and conditions in any way, we may: 

Disable your user account on the Website. 

Commence legal action against you, whether for breach of contract or otherwise; and/or take such other action as we reasonably deem appropriate. 

We may revise these terms and conditions from time-to-time. If you have any concerns about material which appears on our website, please contact us at admin@passivhausassociation.au