Terms of use

Last updated

13 November 2024

1. Purpose

1.1. These are terms of use (Terms of Use) pursuant to which the Commonwealth provides You (as described in clause 3.1.a below) with access to the Commonwealth’s Health Business Services portal (Portal).

2. Interpretation

words importing a gender include any other gender;
words in the singular number include the plural and words in the plural number include the singular;
clause headings are inserted for convenient reference only and have no effect in limiting or extending the language of the Terms of Use to which they refer;
a reference to a person includes a natural person, partnership, body corporate, association, governmental or local authority, agency, or other entity;
reference to a policy, legislation, ordinance, code or other law includes regulations and other instruments under it, and consolidations, amendments, re-enactments or replacements of any of them;
another grammatical form of a defined word or expression has a corresponding meaning;
a reference within these Terms of Use to a clause or paragraph number is a reference to that clause or paragraph of the Terms of Use;
a reference to a part, attachment, schedule, item number, or annexure is to a part of, or attachment, schedule. item number or annexure to these Terms of Use;
the meaning of general words is not limited by specific examples introduced by including, 'such as' or similar expressions, and words such as 'including' are not words of limitation; and
reference to days is to business days, being any day that is not Saturday, Sunday or a public holiday in Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory, Australia.

3. Terms of Use

3.1. In these Terms of Use:

the terms You and Your refer to the individual user of the Portal and, where applicable, also includes a reference to each Client that has been identified as a contracting party which will use the Portal.
Access Credential, for your Profile, means:
1. Your myID - external site (formerly myGovID) login credentials for that Profile
2. Your login credentials created on the Portal for that Profile where You are not eligible to use 3.1.b.i,
or any other means of credentialing as may be approved by the Commonwealth from time to time.
Access Credential Verification means the identity verification requirements (if any) You must comply with the first time You use Your Access Credentials and which may need to be periodically revalidated as and when advised by the Commonwealth.
Administrator means any individual user of the Portal:
1. assigned ‘Client Account administrator’ by the Commonwealth through the Portal under clause 6.2 for that Client Account; or
2. whose Profile has been assigned ‘Client Account administrator’ permissions by an individual with a validly created Profile under clause 7.6.b.ii for that Client Account.
Client means any natural person, organisation or any other type of association approved by the Commonwealth that is identified in the Portal as being capable of being associated with a Client Account.
Client Account means an account validly created by a Profile which is established in accordance with clause 6 and any instructions issued by the Commonwealth for use of the Portal at https://www.odc.gov.au/about-us/odc-transformation/portal-help/how-to to be associated with a particular Client.
Commonwealth means the Commonwealth of Australia as represented by the Department of Health and Aged Care ABN 83 605 426 759, or such other Commonwealth agency that has the responsibility for administering, or assisting with administering, the Portal from time to time.
Draft Profile means the initial information supplied for the purposes of establishing a Profile.
General User means any individual user of the Portal whose Profile has been assigned one or more Service Roles, Service Functions or Limited Action by the Administrator.
Intellectual Property Rights include:
1. all copyright (including rights in relation to phonograms and broadcasts);
2. all rights in relation to inventions, plant varieties, trademarks (including service marks), designs and circuit layouts; and
3. all other rights resulting from intellectual activity in the industrial, scientific, literary or artistic fields,
but does not include:
1. moral rights under Part IX of the Copyrights Act 1968 (Cth); or
2. rights in relation to confidential information.
Limited Action means a pre-defined set of Service Roles that You are able perform only for a particular service or other activity offered on the Portal as informed by the Administrator from time to time.
Material means any thing:
1. submitted into the Portal by an Administrator, General User or any other users of the Portal; or
2. communicated by the Commonwealth via the Portal,
and includes any such thing in which Intellectual Property Rights arise.
Multi-Factor Authentication means a security measure that requires you, when accessing your Profile, to provide two or more proofs of identity to verify your identity before granting access to the Portal. Proofs include, but are not limited to, a personal identification number (PIN), a secret question, a token or your biometric.
Permitted Purpose means using the Portal for legitimate purposes, including viewing and managing Your health products and services or any other purpose as advised by the Commonwealth from time to time, which are always subject to any restriction stated on the Portal. Such use must at all time be in accordance with the laws of Australia, including the Privacy Act.
Personal Information has the same meaning as in the Privacy Act.
Personnel means an officer, employee, agent or subcontractor of the Commonwealth.
Portal means this Health Business Services electronic platform administered by the Commonwealth on which an individual or a Client may view and manage their information and, if applicable, view and manage their health products and services.
Privacy Act means the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
Profile means an online account authorised by the Commonwealth, pursuant to which You or a User (as applicable) may use the Portal.
Relevant Authority means written evidence in accordance with clause 5 of Your authority to represent the relevant Client Account either as an Administrator or General User or both.
Representative means employee, agent, volunteer or any other type of relationship whereby You are holding Yourself out to be representing a Client.
Service Function means the contact point for a Client Account generally or a specific reason as described in the Portal.
Service Roles means any of the following functions which can be performed on the Portal:
1. lodgement, updating or correction of information;
2. reviewing documentation;
3. clarification of product features or health and safety information;
4. invoicing and payment of fees; and
5. any other functions which the Commonwealth considers from time to time.
User means a natural person who has a Profile.

4. Acceptance

4.1. These Terms of Use govern the relationship between You as an individual, Your Client, where applicable, as the Client’s authorised legal representative and the Commonwealth in relation to Your use of the Portal. By continuing to access the Portal, You accept the Terms of Use as they apply from time to time and You accept the Terms of Use on behalf of Your Client.

4.2. If You do not agree to these Terms of Use, You will not be able to access the Portal and You must immediately cease using the Portal.

4.3. Failure to comply with these Terms of Use during Your use of the Portal may, at any time, result in Your Profile (or, if applicable, any one or more of Your Profiles) being suspended or terminated in accordance with clause 13 of these Terms of Use.

4.4. The Commonwealth may, at its discretion and at any time, update these Terms of Use by publishing any updates on the Portal.

5. Access to the portal

5.1. You must:

only access the Portal using the Access Credentials for Your Profile;
comply with any Access Credential Verification requirements applicable to your Access Credentials;
comply with any terms and conditions applicable to Your use of the Access Credentials for Your Client (for example, any terms and conditions applicable to myID - external site (formerly myGovID) or TBS);
keep your Profile contact details up to date; and
not access the Portal as agent or representative of a Client, other than in accordance with clause 5.3 of these Terms of Use.

5.2. You must comply with all directions or security measures that the Commonwealth may from time to time, at its sole discretion, introduce to the Portal in order to minimise, as far as possible, any risk or threat posed to the Portal, Users or to Your Profile, including but not limited to, the introduction of Multi-Factor Authentication.

5.3. Subject to clause 5.4, if You are purporting to access the Portal as a Representative of a Client, then You must:

have Relevant Authority;
submit to the Commonwealth on its request evidence of Your Relevant Authority in a form acceptable to the Commonwealth;
only use the Portal within the scope of the Relevant Authority; and
cease using the Portal in relation to the relevant Client if the Relevant Authority is revoked.

5.4. Your Relevant Authority must set out:

the nature of Your relationship with the Client you are purporting to be a representative of;
what you are permitted to do on behalf of the Client; and
any other information which the Commonwealth may reasonably request from time to time.

6. Creating Client Accounts

6.1. You may request that the Commonwealth establish a Client Account on the Portal provided that You:

provide valid details of the Client for which you are seeking to create a Client Account in accordance with instructions provided at https://www.odc.gov.au/about-us/odc-transformation/portal-help/how-to;
provide sufficient evidence, as required by the Commonwealth depending on your chosen Access Credentials, that You have authority to open a Client Account for the Client and are authorised to be an Administrator for the Client Account; and
comply with the documentation requirements as required on the Portal, as may be updated by the Commonwealth from time to time.

6.2. Provided that You comply with clause 6.1, the Commonwealth may create a Client Account for the Client specified in clause 6.1.a and appoint You as Administrator.

7. Warranties and acknowledgements

Confirmation of identity

7.1. You represent and warrant that, as at the date of agreeing to these Terms of Use and upon establishment of Your Profile:

You promptly reviewed the individual identification details submitted to establish that Profile; and
You have taken any necessary steps to ensure that all identification details submitted by You to the Commonwealth in connection with the Portal are true and correct and do not misrepresent Your identity.

Confirmation of whether You are associated with another Client Account

7.2. If You are associated with more than one Client Account, You must provide:

an Administrator of a Client Account with which Your Profile has been linked or will be linked; and
the Commonwealth on its request,

details of this relationship which are sufficient to allow the Administrator to comply with clause 7.7.

Acknowledgement by all Users

7.3. You may create a Draft Profile for a prospective User on the Portal which will become a Profile for the User upon the User confirming their Access Credentials and completing Access Credential Verification.

7.4. The Commonwealth and any Users of a Client Account You are associated with may be able to see:

Your name and the email address and phone number that You associated with that Client Account; and
that you are associated with the Client Account.

Additional representations, warranties and acknowledgements by Administrators

7.5. Clauses 7.6 to 7.10 of these Terms of Use apply to You if You are an Administrator for a Client Account. Nothing in these clauses limits Your other representations, warranties, acknowledgements or obligations under these Terms of Use.

7.6. You acknowledge that:

You have provided Your Personal Information (including Your name and email address) to the Commonwealth and that this information has been used to create Your Profile;
You have the ability to:
1. add a Profile to be associated with that Client Account;
2. assign ‘Administrator’ or ‘General User’ (or both) permissions to any Profile associated with that Client Account (such that the individual associated with that Profile becomes an Administrator or General User for that Client Account, as applicable);
3. subject to clause 7.6.c, assign any Service Roles, Service Functions or Limited Actions, as applicable, to a General User of that Client Account;
4. remove any ‘Administrator’ or ‘General User’ (or both) permissions previously assigned to any Profile, other than Your Administrator permissions, associated with that Client Account (such that the individual associated with that Profile ceases to be an Administrator or General User for that Client Account, as applicable);
5. view all the Administrators and General Users associated with the Client Account which You are an Administrator;
6. submit a request to the Commonwealth to deactivate the Client Account;
7. update the Client Account’s:
  1. postal addresses;
  2. billing details;
You do not have the ability to assign, to a General User, any Service Roles which involve submission of documents for Commonwealth approval on behalf of a Client unless You provide sufficient evidence, as informed by the Commonwealth from time to time, that the General User is permitted to submit documents on behalf of the Client.
You do not have the ability to do the things described in clause 7.11.a, unless You are also a General User for that Client Account.

7.7. If a Profile, which is or will be associated with the Client Account for which You are an Administrator, informs You that they are associated with one or more other Client Accounts, You or another Administrator must:

conduct appropriate checks to ensure that the activities which the Profile is performing will not create a conflict of interest with the activities which the Profile is performing for another Client Account prior to the Profile being added to the Client Account;
revalidate the checks in clause 7.7.a on a periodic basis as required by the Commonwealth; and
provide the results of the checks in clauses 7.7.a and 7.7.b to the Commonwealth on request.

7.8. By adding any Profile to a Client Account, You represent and warrant that You:

have obtained the individual’s consent to share their Personal Information (including their name and email address) with the Commonwealth through the Portal; and
are acting in accordance with Your other obligations under these Terms of Use (including, without limitation, Your obligations under clause 5.3.c and clause 7.7 of these Terms of Use).

7.9. The Commonwealth is not responsible for managing permissions assigned to any Profile associated with any Client Account for which You are an Administrator. It is Your responsibility to remove any permissions granted to any individual who no longer has authority to have such permissions.

7.10. The Commonwealth is not liable for any loss or damage suffered by You or Your Client for any Client Account which You are an Administrator as a result of Your granting another individual access to the Portal or assigning any permissions to such individual’s Profile. This clause 7.10 continues to apply after You cease to be an Administrator for any given Client.

Additional acknowledgements by General Users

7.11. If You are a General User for Your Client Account, then You acknowledge that You:

have the ability to access the Portal in order to view certain information relating to Your Client;
have the ability to perform the Service Roles, Service Functions and Limited Actions assigned to you by the Administrator under clause 7.6.b.iii; and
do not have the ability to do the things described in clause 7.6.b of these Terms of Use unless You are also an Administrator for the Client Account.

Acknowledgement regarding the removal of Your permissions

7.12. You acknowledge and agree that, at any time, an Administrator for a Client Account may remove any ‘Administrator’ or ‘General User’ (or both) permissions previously assigned to Your Profile for that Client Account (such that You cease to be an Administrator or General User for that Client Account, as applicable).

8. Lawful and appropriate use of the Portal

8.1. You agree that You must:

only use the Portal:
1. for a Permitted Purpose and in accordance with any direction by the Commonwealth;
2. in accordance with these Terms of Use as amended from time to time and any other conditions notified by the Commonwealth on the Portal relating to the use of the Portal; and
3. in a manner that does not infringe the Intellectual Property Rights of, or restrict or inhibit the use of the Portal by, any person;
not share or otherwise disclose any Access Credentials for Your Profile (or, if applicable, any of Your Profiles) or Multi Factor Authentication credentials enabling use of Your Profile with any other person or allow any other person to otherwise use the Portal representing themselves as You;
ensure the Access Credentials for Your Profile (or, if applicable, any of Your Profiles) are secured from unauthorised access or compromise;
not access, or attempt to gain access, to any Materials other than those:
1. submitted by You or a General User through the Client Account for Your associated Client;
2. to which the Commonwealth has given You express permission to use.
immediately notify the Commonwealth of any unauthorised use of Your Profile (or, if applicable, any one or more of Your Profiles) or any other breach of security that You become aware of, and take all other actions that the Commonwealth reasonably deems necessary to maintain or enhance the security of the Portal;
maintain the details for Your Profile (or, if applicable, any one or more of Your Profiles) and ensure that those details are at all times true, accurate, current and correct;
not use or misuse the Portal in any way which may disrupt or impair the functionality, security or integrity of the Portal or other systems used for the Portal; and
not transmit, or input via the Portal, any:
1. harmful code or malware;
2. unlawful, defamatory, obscene, offensive or scandalous Material, or any Material that constitutes or encourages conduct that would contravene any law or which may harass or cause distress or inconvenience to any person; or
3. Material in violation of any Intellectual Property Rights or any other applicable law, or Material that You do not have the right to use or transmit or input into the Portal.

8.2. You acknowledge and agree that any Material submitted to the Portal that does not comply with the conditions in clause 8.1 of these Terms of Use may be destroyed by the Commonwealth in its absolute discretion.

8.3. You acknowledge that:

Your access to, and use of, the Portal is subject to applicable Commonwealth legislation, including the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) and the Privacy Act; and
penalties may apply for misuse of information obtained from the Portal or disclosure of information contrary to law.

9. Audit logs

9.1. You acknowledge that Your use of the Portal will be logged for the purpose of security and usage monitoring.

10. Collection and disclosure of Personal Information

10.1. The Commonwealth is bound by the Privacy Act and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

10.2. The Commonwealth collects, uses and discloses Personal Information in administering the Portal as part of its operation of the Portal. We refer to:

our privacy notice at https://www.odc.gov.au/about-us/odc-transformation/portal-help/portal-p…; and
our website privacy policy at https://www.health.gov.au/using-our-websites/website-privacy-policy. - external site

10.3. The Commonwealth has an APP privacy policy - external site which contains information about:

how You may access the Personal Information the Commonwealth holds about You and how You can seek correction of it; and
how You may complain about a breach of:
1. the Privacy Act;
2. the APPs; or
3. a registered APP code that binds the Commonwealth; and
how the Commonwealth will deal with such a complaint.

10.4. The Commonwealth may collect and use any information, including Your Personal Information, which You submit to the Portal:

for the purposes of delivering different services on the Portal;
to inform and develop improvements for the Portal;
for compliance with law, Commonwealth policy and audit requirements; and
any other purposes as informed by the Commonwealth from time to time.

11. Intellectual Property Rights

11.1. You must not submit, edit or use any Material on the Portal for a purpose for which You do not have the express permission of the Intellectual Property Rights owner of the Material. If You have any doubt as to Your right to use the Material, please contact its owner. The Commonwealth is not liable if You infringe an owner’s Intellectual Property Rights in any Material.

11.2. You grant to (or will procure for) the Commonwealth a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence (including a right of sub-licence) to use, reproduce, adapt, distribute and communicate the Material You submit in the Portal for any purpose required by the Commonwealth.

11.3. You acknowledge and agree that the licence granted or procured under clause 11.2 of these Terms of Use does not limit or exclude any rights that the Commonwealth is entitled to exercise at law in relation to the Material.

11.4. You must not claim ownership in any Intellectual Property Rights in relation to Materials which have not been submitted by You, or falsely claim or misattribute authorship of these Materials.

11.5. Any external site images used on the Portal or in association with the Portal are used with the permission of those external sites. You must, where possible, refer to the copyright statements or applicable terms of use at those websites before reproducing, communicating or other making use of the external site images.

12. Indemnification and liability

12.1. To the extent permitted by law, the Commonwealth is not liable, and excludes all responsibility for, any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages that result in any way from:

your use of, or inability to use, the Portal;
your reliance on the Portal or on any Materials;
mistakes, omissions, interruptions, deletion or corruption of files, errors, defects, delays in operation in the Portal;
transmission, or any failure of performance of the Portal;
misuse of the Portal by you;
the unavailability of the Portal for any reason, including:
1. the Commonwealth suspending access at any time for any reason without notice;
2. any delay in operation or transmission, communication failure, internet access difficulties or malfunctions in equipment or software;
3. failure in continuous accessibility or uninterrupted operation of the Portal; or.
a distributed denial-of-service attack, viruses or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of the Portal or to your downloading of any material posted on it or on any website linked to it,

whether or not the damages are caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth or its Personnel.

12.2. You remain solely responsible and liable for complying with all applicable laws in connection with Your use of the Portal.

12.3. You agree to indemnify the Commonwealth and its Personnel (those indemnified) from and against any loss or liability incurred as a consequence of a claim (including costs and expenses of defending or settling any claim), in connection with:

loss or liability incurred;
loss or damage to the property of the Commonwealth, its Personnel or any other person;
loss incurred in dealing with any claim including legal costs and expenses on a solicitor/own client basis and the cost of time spent, resources used or disbursements paid by the Commonwealth;
personal injury/death of any person; and
any other liability owed by those indemnified to any other person, arising from or as a consequence of any act or omission,

in connection with your use of Portal, irrespective of whether or not there was fault on your part.

13. Termination of access

13.1. The Commonwealth may, in its sole discretion, discontinue, restrict, terminate or suspend your access to the Portal or any component of it at any time for any reason (including security, economic, efficiency grounds), immediately and without notice.

13.2. Without restricting the Commonwealth’s other rights under this clause 13, the Commonwealth may, in its sole discretion, impose conditions on your right to access the Portal, where You:

breach any of these Terms of Use or other conditions imposed by the Commonwealth regarding Your use of the Portal; or
engage in misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, immoral or illegal conduct.

13.3. The Commonwealth may also change, limit, restrict, suspend or cease any feature, database, information, application, or content available on the Portal at any time and without any notice or potential liability arising out of this change.

13.4. You will be unable to access the Portal if the Portal has terminated your access. The Commonwealth may, at its absolute discretion, reinstate your access.

13.5. If the Commonwealth terminates your access to the Portal you must destroy or return to the Commonwealth any documentation or Access Credential details that you hold.

13.6. The Commonwealth will not be liable to pay compensation for or related to the change, restrict, termination or suspension of your access to the Portal or any part of it and you will not be entitled to compensation for any loss, damage or expense incurred as a result of the change, restriction, termination or suspension.

14. Survival

14.1. If access is terminated or suspended under clause 13 or you cease using the Portal, these Terms and Conditions will survive the termination, suspension or your cessation of use (as the case may be).

15. Disclaimer

15.1. You agree that:

You assume all risks associated with Your use of the Portal, including the risk:
1. of your computer, software or data being stolen, or damaged as a result of security breaches and/or online threats which might be transmitted or activated through the Portal or Your access to it; and
2. that the content or use of the Portal does not comply with the laws of any country other than Australia;
that You are solely responsible for any Material submitted in the Portal using Your Profile.
that any Material input via the Portal may be accessed by Personnel who are permitted access by the Commonwealth for the purposes of carrying out the compliance and other functions of the Commonwealth and for operating and administering the Portal.

15.2. The Commonwealth provides the Portal on an ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ basis for your use.

15.3. The Commonwealth makes no:

statements, representations, or express or implied warranties (to the extent permitted by law) that the content of and information accessed through the Portal will be at any time accurate, current and complete;
representations about the suitability or fitness for purpose of information provided on the Portal; and
claims regarding the efficacy or suitability of processes and mechanisms provided by the Commonwealth through, on in association with the Portal including mechanisms to update information and upload documents to the Portal in a timely and efficient manner.

15.4. To the extent permitted by law, the Commonwealth does not represent, warrant or guarantee that:

the Portal will be available at any particular time or location;
use of the Portal and its Materials will not breach Intellectual Property Rights;
continuous accessibility and uninterrupted operation of the Portal;
any defects or errors in the Portal will be identified and/or corrected; or
the Portal is free from viruses or other harmful components.

15.5. As a result of security breaches or other behaviour that is outside the control of the Commonwealth, there may be information or materials that may be offensive or perceived as unsuitable may be accessible through the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth makes no representation and gives no warranty that data accessible for viewing through the Portal will generally be acceptable to adults or suitable for viewing by minors.

15.6. The Commonwealth may make changes to the Portal (including by removing any Materials held in the Portal), conduct maintenance on the Portal, or otherwise temporarily or permanently cease to provide the Portal at any time and without notice.

15.7. The Commonwealth may withdraw the use of an Access Credential at any time and without notice to You, and that You will be required to use a different Access Credential to access Your Profile.

15.8. The Portal is hosted in a cloud environment and has been designed to meet relevant requirements under the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework and the Information Security Manual. However, You acknowledge that the Commonwealth does not give any representation or warranty that the Portal or any underlying environment or platform is secure or meets a particular security standard.

15.9. Where the Portal links to third party information, You are responsible for making your own enquiries and decisions about the accuracy, reliability, currency and completeness of information contained in such information. The Commonwealth accepts no legal liability arising from or connected to Your use or reliance on any third party information.

16. General

16.1. You cannot assign Your obligations or rights under these Terms of Use without the prior written consent of the Commonwealth, which may be withheld in the Commonwealth’s complete discretion or given on conditions.

16.2. A reference to any legislation or legislative provision includes any statutory modification, substitution or re-enactment of that legislation or legislative provision.

16.3. If any of these Terms of Use are held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, the remaining Terms of Use will continue in full force.

16.4. You are not by virtue of these Terms of Use an officer, employee, partner or agent of the Commonwealth, nor do You have any power or authority to bind or represent the Commonwealth. You agree to not misrepresent Your relationship with the Commonwealth.

16.5. These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, and You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Australian Capital Territory and the Commonwealth of Australia.

16.6. If either party waives any breach of these Terms of Use, this will not constitute a waiver of any other breach. No waiver will be effective unless made in writing.

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